Instinct
by HigherMagic
Summary: Dean and Sam are werewolves that get captured by an enemy were-cat colony living nearby. The Alpha and Beta of the colony start giving them unexpected, and somewhat unwanted, attention. Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel.
1. Chapter 1

**Instinct**

**Werewolf/Were-cat AU.**

**Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel**

**Rated: NC-17**

**Dean's POV**

**Dean and Sam are caught by an enemy were-cat colony, where the Alpha and Beta begin giving them unwanted and unexpected attention.**

* * *

_Fuck. _We were screwed. I could sense them behind us, gaining fast. They knew the territory better than we did, and despite the blow it is to my pride, I know that Sam and I aren't as fast as we could be. We'd been slacking off with patrols and hunts and now we were paying the price for it; deep in were-cat marshlands with nowhere to run or hide.

The marshes are vast and deadly. They'd have to be to create such inhabitants. There are deep pits that don't look like pits buried under the wet grass and boggy fields. There are no trees, no cover, and with the recent rains they're even worse. My pack lives right on the border where trees start growing, and we can't see them anywhere. We're in so deep.

Sam and I ran, and behind us we could hear their growls and their panted breaths. Sam's huge bulk was a comforting shadow behind me and I slowed as I saw him disappear with a yelp of surprise and pain. The ground gave under my feet, sending me sliding several yards before I regained my balance and returned for my brother. He was sprawled awkwardly, his brown-gold coat splattered with mud, and as I crept forward, wary of our pursuers, he whined at me, ears flat back.

_Broke my leg. Damn pits, _he voiced, trying to get up and growling in agony when his right foreleg gave under his weight. _Can't run. Get away, Dean. Don't let them catch you._

_Like Hell, Sammy, _I replied, hackles raising just slightly at even the suggestion that I would leave my baby brother behind. I crept closer, shielding his body with my own from our invisible enemy. _Change back, Sammy, and I'll carry you._

_It'll slow you down, _he grit out.

_Don't care. Do it before I bite you._

They were getting closer, but luckily Sam was quick at phasing from one form to another. When he was human it was only a matter of getting my head between his legs, and his physical upper body strength would do the rest; he hauled himself onto my back, and I yelped a little as he tore at the scruff, which was still tender after my fight with Gordon – a subordinate in my pack. When I thought he was safely on I began to run again, mindful of my little brother's injury but also very much aware of our pursuit.

I could begin to see the trees now, five miles away. If I could get there in time I would be over our own borders, and home free.

Except –

Was that –

-Shit!

A were-cat came out of nowhere, her sleek black fur blending almost perfectly with the marshy grasslands, and tackled me easily. She sent me flying, and Sam had to let go, his body rolling to a distance away from us. I tried to watch him out of the corner of my eye, to see if he had injured himself further, but the she-cat attacked me again, jaws gaping and claws ready. She was half my size but double my speed, effectively trapping me in so that I couldn't keep running – not that I would leave my brother behind anyway.

I growled, and struck at her, catching her along her spine and flank. She yowled, spit dripping from her parted jaws as she clawed back, catching me across the face. My left field of vision – incidentally, the one that was watching Sam – was lost in a sea of my own blood.

I don't know how long we fought for, but we were both raw and bleeding when I finally made out my brother's voice; "Dean…"

I froze, as did the female, and looked his way. The others had caught up. They were in a reverse V around us, circling me and my brother in, and one of them – a small, honey-yellow male – had Sam's torso a dangerous distance away from his mouth. One movement would cut right through him. I growled; ears back and hackles raised – a mix of defiance, aggression and anxiety – and stepped forward, but stopped when the leader hissed at me, claws unsheathed and digging into the marshes.

He was a beautiful creature. His coat was blue-black and well-kept, covering smooth, powerful muscle and a lithe form. His eyes shone the brightest blue I had ever seen, and for a werewolf that would mean the pup was blind, but the were-cat followed my every movement precisely, from the twitch of my ears to the shift of my legs. The intensity was frightening, somewhat, and despite the fact that I was an Alpha in my own right, a little part of me shifted and deferred to this powerful, dominant creature.

I shook the feeling away before it could take hold.

The head cat hissed at me again, upper lip wrinkling to reveal a huge set of canines, curved and serrated on the back-edge, and jerked its head back the way we had come. I dipped my head in understanding, tail drooping, for the golden were-cat still had not released my brother, and my freedom was not worth his death. When I crept forward the he-cat pulled away and allowed Sam to climb onto my back again, his reddish-yellow eyes fixed intently upon my brother's hidden leg for a moment before he fell into step behind the sleek, black Alpha. The she-cat that had attacked me flanked my other side, and I carried my brother in the middle of the feline triangle, back into the country we had so desperately been trying to escape.

Were-cats and werewolves have long been enemies, like regular cats and dogs. Long ago, the human population died of a mysterious illness that no one has solved yet, and the disease triggered a long-dormant gene that forced people either as wolves, cats, or the rarer eagles that are rumored to be extinct. From all boundaries such as this sprouted hatred and fear, and we separated and hunt each other. Sam and I were in deep shit and we both knew it.

One main difference (aside from the obvious) between werewolves and were-cats is our cultures. Werewolves wouldn't think twice about tackling a playmate or a family member in jest, or any form of physical contact, but were-cats are so _formal. _They don't touch each other unless they are mated or fighting, and everything they do is surrounded by formality and ceremony. Compared to them, werewolves are savages.

We can change at will. That's another thing I should mention. Walking into the were-cat settlement, I was struck by how…_feline_ they all were. I'm sure they would have thought the same sort of thing around us, but it's true…they are so graceful and fluid in everything they do and it's weird to watch. We don't bother with clothes, but they do; white sheets they wrap around themselves in the same way as Ancient Greeks used to, in human times.

They all stared at Sam and me, noses wrinkled in disgust at our appearances – splattered in mud and blood and my brother naked as the day he was born. I'm sure we looked quite a sight. I growled at one as he spat on the ground, earning a tensing from the cats on my right side, but paid them no mind. Let them fear me – they have a right to.

We were escorted to a set of tents built up on the high ground, where it was slightly more stable and I didn't slip at every turn. Sam whined in pain at every step and I rumbled my apology at him, tail hanging low at the shame of not being able to take care of him. He slid a hand through the fur at my shoulder, as good as a shoulder nudge between our wolf forms, and I figured I was forgiven.

When we approached the largest tent the golden beta shifted into his human form. He was a short man with slicked-back golden hair, hazel-brown eyes and a sarcastic smile. The rest of the group averted their eyes to afford him modesty, but werewolves have no real concept of that, and I stared right on through him.

"Change into your human form, wolf," he snapped at me, and the she-cat that had attacked me growled in affirmation. I dipped my shoulder, letting Sam slide onto his good leg, before I changed back into my human form as well. I didn't miss the appreciative glance the were-cat sent our way, followed by a low whistle. "Big boys, aren't ya?" he said, leering at Sam.

The Alpha cat hissed at him, but it was I who spoke; "You gonna stand there all day or kill us?" I knew, despite their claims at being 'civilized', that were-cats had an affinity for taking the wolf heads of their enemies and hanging them outside their borders. I had no doubt this would be our fate now.

"Dean," Sam growled at me, his eyes flashing between the gathered cats. Knowing him, being our chief tactician in the pack, he'd be trying to sort out a way of escape for us.

"Neither," the golden cat replied, smirking slightly as he folded his arms over his chest, resting his weight on one leg. "I'm going to heal this one," he pointed to Sam, "and you are going to sit tight and wait until we decide what to do with you."

I shifted, uneasy. I had assumed the sleek, black-coated cat to be the Alpha, but it seemed like this golden cat was calling the shots. The lines of power weren't as clearly defined, here, and it made me uneasy.

"Why would you heal him?" I asked, wary.

"'Cause he's purdy," the golden cat replied, leering once again at my brother, and I growled, shifting more into an attack stance. I would _not _sit back and take such a tone towards my brother, my flesh and blood, and this golden cat needed to be put into his place. The cat raised his hands in mock surrender –"Relax, wolf; it's my job."

"I'll be fine, Dean," Sam said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling me back slightly. I relaxed, because Sam is a fantastically calming influence on me, and if this golden cat really was going to heal him and make him alright, then it would only be a good thing in my books. He drew me back, rumbling the next words in my ear; "As soon as I'm free, I'll get a message out to Azazel and he'll bring back-up."

I smiled.

The golden cat came forward, providing a prop for Sam as my brother hobbled to the nearest tent, and I watched him go, desperate to follow but obviously I hadn't been invited to, so I held my ground. The night was pleasantly cool, raising goose bumps on my skin and chasing away the bugs for the night, so I wouldn't have to worry about mosquitoes or other parasites, which was a pleasant reprieve.

My attention was grabbed when the cat I assumed was the Alpha shifted his form, along with the female that had attacked me. She took form of a beautiful, slim redheaded woman with ice-blue eyes. Her torso was torn from my attack and I swallowed back the remorse I felt, remembering that this was meant to be my enemy…but I had never felt the inbred hatred for were-cats that my kinsmen had. I wanted to mend the divide, not encourage it.

That's why my pack had been here. We had been visiting a neighboring were-cat colony and we'd had to travel through this colony's territory. Sam and I had been separated and though we were both good fighters, tacticians and strong pack members, we were shit navigators. Lost and alone, we were no match for their hunting parties.

"I'm sorry," I told the redheaded female, voice heavy with sincerity and almost took a step back when she whirled on me, hair flying and eyes dark and cold.

"You don't talk to me, dog!" she hissed, fingers curling into talons as she advanced on me, teeth bared.

The Alpha spoke then; "Anna! Stand down!" Immediately the she-cat deferred, looking over at her Alpha, and I followed her gaze. The Alpha cat was…beautiful. That's the only word to describe him – with jet black hair and warm, bright blue eyes and miles of pale skin, the man was gorgeous. He was a little shorter than me and less built, but what little muscle he had vibrated with energy and power. Yes, this was definitely the Alpha.

The female stepped back, hissing once before she followed the golden cat and Sam into the tent, presumably to get healed as well. I followed her progress until she disappeared, and then focused my gaze on the Alpha. "I am sorry," I repeated, hoping to get a better reception.

The man smirked slightly at me, looking me up and down with a predatory gaze and I felt myself blushing. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide myself, but there was no hiding the fact that the both of us were naked and I couldn't lie with my scent…Pheromones. I was pouring them out… 'Pawing the ground for him', as young members of my pack would say – werewolf slang. My blush darkened and I cleared my throat, shifting my gaze away and hoping against hope that werewolf pheromones and were-cat pheromones didn't smell the same. The smirk on the Alpha's face told me otherwise.

_Damn it._

"So…" The man raised an eyebrow, looking me up and down again, not giving a care for his own nudity. Cold bastard. "You're the Alpha of your pack?"

I frowned. "How did you know that?" Sam hadn't called me by my title once around the were-cats. Immediately I was on the defensive; if the were-cats knew of my status they could use me for ransom or, better yet, kill me and Sam to get to the pack. I couldn't allow that.

The man shrugged. "One of my cats is a…specialist. He's good at getting inside your mind." He pointed to his temple. "Any mental communication during phase, he can pick up."

I frowned again, uncomfortable with the idea of someone inside my head without my permission or knowledge. I shifted my weight, but I didn't have time to respond before the Alpha was talking again; "Leave us," he said, turning to the rest of the cats. "Now!"

A few of them hissed, ears flattening, the upper lip wrinkling, but they left with their tails down and their shoulders dipped. The man stepped forward again, and I was reminded, once more, that we were both naked and I was currently very turned-on, hormones-wise. He smelled like the marshes, but in a pleasant way – like fresh rain on grass and ocean spray; salt and water in equal measure. I inhaled before I could stop myself, and embarrassed myself as I shook on the exhale, fingers digging into my forearms so I didn't reach out and touch him.

"That wasn't very smart, Alpha – leaving the two of us alone," I commented, trying to distract myself, and ended up failing when the were-cat smirked back at me, brightening his eyes and _fuck. _This is _not cool. _

He shrugged. "I don't think you're going to be doing anything…untoward," he replied, smiling again as he fixed me with an appraising look. "My name is Castiel, and I would like you to tell me what you're doing in my lands now, Dean."

I forced a smirk to my face. "Oh you know; exploring."

The change was sudden and swift; without warning he grabbed my chin, tilting my head up so I was forced to bare my throat. I instinctively shied away, growling in warning, but the Alpha's hold was strong and unyielding, pulling me back.

"Now you listen to me, pup," Castiel snarled, and I caught just an edge of serration to his teeth as they brushed against my neck. I swallowed back my whimper just in time. "I have neither the time nor the inclination to deal with your tricks and smart-ass remarks. I was here before the trees you hide in were here, and my brothers are much older. Now, you will answer me honestly and quickly, and maybe I will let your brother and your miserable self go." He pushed, then, sending my stumbling before I caught my balance. "What were you doing on my lands?"

I rubbed at my throat, wincing at the scratch that Castiel's teeth had left behind. The Alpha snarled at me, and I cursed myself at the little submissive whimper that escaped my throat – _fuck it, _this is _not _how an Alpha reacts.

"Answer me, dog!"

"I'm sorry," I answered, desperate. "My pack was visiting a neighbor of yours, and we had to travel through your lands. My brother and I got separated and we panicked, and ran. I'm sorry; we're sorry. The trespass was unintentional."

Castiel paused, cocking his head to one side, looking me over once again. "Dean…is your last name Winchester?"

"Yes."

"Dean Winchester…you're of that pack up north, aren't you? The ones reaching out." Castiel snorted. "You're fighting a losing war."

"I'm just here because you brought me here – you can either heal my brother and let us go, or kill us both, or ransom us or whatever the hell you want, but I don't owe you anything, and I'm an Alpha in my own right, damn it, and -."

Castiel was smirking.

"What?" I growled.

"You talk high and mighty, Alpha," Castiel said, advancing on me with that feline grace of his breed. I just barely resisted the urge to back down; "You puff yourself up and make yourself threatening, and you act with such righteous indignation…but you can't lie to me." He was so close to me now, and I was awash in his scent – and he could probably smell mine, too. His eyes were darkening, near-black, his lips inches away from the exposed skin of my throat, which I only just realized I had bared for him, on instinct. "And your body…you body doesn't lie to me, either. You want me, Alpha. You want me to take you, and own you, and make you feel like you want to feel – submit to me, and accept me, and I'll make you feel so good…" I don't know how they got a reputation for being so cold, when Castiel was so warm in front of me, his body heat almost feverish, eyes burning and serrated teeth just scraping against my carotid artery, heavy with my racing pulse.

I shivered, and stepped away from him, hands defensively outward. "Never," I rasped, hating how even _I _could smell my own pheromones, and Castiel, the bastard, smirked.

"If you ever change your mind…Dean." Then, he jerked his head to one side, to where a smaller tent was, and I knew he was telling me to go in. It was right next to the tent my brother inhabited, so I went in quickly, whining at a frequency cats hadn't evolved to hear, to check if Sam was okay. I heard his bass rumble in response, and although Castiel cocked his head to one side, I knew we were safe with the meaning of the sound.

The tent was covered in the pelts of deer and furs of bears and…I shuddered with revulsion…wolves. My brethren and some of them I could fancy I recognized from other packs, with their blank, staring eyes and gaping maws. God…this could be me. This may still be me. It's a terrifying concept.

Castiel had followed me in; I felt him behind me and whirled around. "What are you doing?"

The Alpha grinned. "This is my tent, and you are my…guest." The force of his gaze sat heavy on my shoulders, and I went to my knees in front of him. I inhaled deeply, and found another scent hidden amongst the smells of death, fur, blood and rain. Deep and heady – a siren song.

The Alpha.

I smirked. "You talk all high and mighty too, but you're just as prey to me, Alpha," I purred at him, smirking when his mouth twisted in anger and embarrassment. Oh yes, two could play at this game.

I crawled forward, all an animal for him – perhaps, if I could make him lose his guard, just once, I could strike him down and Sam and I could make good our escape. When the healer cures his leg and any other injuries he might have sustained, I'll take him out of here and we'll run and kill any were-cats we can on the way. They'll regret injuring my brother.

He crouched down in front of me, our faces level. He took my chin in his hand again, tilting my head up. His gaze was speculative. "This is a dangerous game you play, Alpha, and don't think I don't know the rules."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

We met, then, in a clash that was more a fight of dominance than an actual kiss. Castiel was quick to surge forward and pin me onto my back, teeth biting my lips bloody as he forced my jaws apart. I felt the Alpha cat mewl when his tongue came into contact with my own jagged-edged canines, biting down on his lower lip and lapping at his blood.

His hands were dirty and without shame, exploring places on my body that, honest-to-God, no one had touched in years. Mates of an Alpha were very…select. Only a few bloodlines were eligible and, from that, courting sometimes lasted into the years. Of course, Alphas were allowed to screw around a little bit, but I'd never actually made it to the courting stage. There had been one female, Cassie, that I had contemplated for a few months, but she…didn't work out. We wanted different things.

_Castiel, _though…was _fire. _Liquid fire; his hands burned and seared at my flesh, leaving marks behind that would be embedded into my skin and my fur for days – weeks – to come. I arched for him, welcoming the long-missed touch, and it was like my body knew exactly what it wanted, regardless of what my brain was saying, because when his hands found my thighs and spread them, my head shouted in protest, but my muscles relaxed and went willingly to his coaxing. My hands found themselves knotted in his hair, my lips parting easily when his kisses turned gentler. His scent was driving me crazy, sinking into my very pores, and the combined scent of ourselves was making my head spin. I thrust up against him, mewling for it like some goddamn virginal bitch in heat, and the bastard chuckled against me, his long fingers stroking around the base of my cock, teasing at my entrance just slightly before withdrawing.

"God damn it, Alpha," I gasped, almost purring when he stuck two fingers into my mouth, his eyes telling me to suck, and I did willingly, growling when his hand forced me back, palm against my throat, fingers almost choking me. The submission felt _so good…_I could easily lose myself in it.

"You know," Castiel said, voice light, belying the greedy darkness in his eyes; "Females are a lot harder to get. They attack the male – make them work for it. But you, Alpha…" He pulled his fingers away from me, examining them to see if they were slick enough. "You are something else."

I growled at him, words kind of beyond me at this point, and he chuckled. "Not to say you're by any means easy…I'm sure you have more than one trick waiting for me, or a plan or something, and this is all towards a greater end. That's the way Alphas think, isn't it? But your pheromones…" He purred slightly as he inhaled, leaning back over me so jaw scraped against mine, the gesture so wolf-like it startled me, and I was returning it before I could think. "God, I've never smelled anything like that. Even our most potent females do not have a call such as you, Alpha…"

There was no warning before he was breaching me, his slender fingers too much, too thick and fast for my liking. I clenched and hissed at him, clawing lightly at the dip of his spine, causing him to shiver above me. He purred against my neck, sheathed teeth nipping at my throat, and I kind of hated how eagerly I tilted my head back and spread my legs wider for him, letting him settle between them. One finger became two and my body – again, ignoring the will of my mind – opened graciously for them, my thighs gripping his sides where he held one of them up with his free hand, expression contorted in almost comical concentration.

"Oh, _fuck," _I growled, dangerously close to howling for Castiel as the Alpha's fingers crooked just right, brushing against something that set my world on fire. My back bowed, hands clawing for purchase and finding it on his shoulders, the other hand pulled his head down for a kiss, to stop myself making more embarrassing noises more than anything else.

He pulled his two fingers out, pulling away from the kiss just long enough to spit on his palm and slick his cock up, before he was back, silencing my whimper of submission when he first breached my body. His hands gripped my hips, sliding me back onto him as much as he was pushing forward. He was kind about it – conscientious, almost – stopping and starting whenever I thought it would become too much. I was shaking around him, sweat gathering on the hollows and dips of my body, and I almost came when he leaned down to lick the sweat from above my collarbone. His eyes were so _dark, _and he looked like he was going to eat me alive, and I whimpered again, and mewled when he growled – a heavy, bass sound that I felt where our bodies were connected – and surged forward, ramming in all the way.

I did howl for him, then, the sound muffled against his lips but still loud enough that I'm sure Sam heard it. I clutched at his hair, desperate for something to ground me, and he was making the most delicious little sounds – purrs and hisses and groans all mixed together – as he rode me, quickly building up a rhythm and fucking into me with single-minded purpose.

This isn't how wolves do it. When wolves, it's all rough passion, and the stereotypical 'doggie style', because sometimes we can't even be bothered to change back into humans before the _must-have-you-NOW _feeling takes over and we just have to _fuck. _Werewolves run on adrenaline – it's like the basic hormone in our system, and as a result we're all urgency and fight-or-flight-or-fuck, and it's hasty and messy and oftentimes over quickly.

Were-cats, evidently, are not like that.

Castiel was slow about it. Methodical. He carefully, and with surgical precision, mapped out every part of my body available to him and took me apart, piece by piece. He made sure I was coming apart at the seams, driven crazy by him before we were even half-way done. He made me writhe, and howl, and beg for him, with nothing but dirty words and harsh growls and his cock in my ass and his hands on my body. His teeth kept scraping over my throat – a teasing threat that he never carried out, but only added a whole new layer of danger and excitement to it – something that we werewolves feed on like mother's milk. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it was _so _effective.

I reached down to jerk myself off, dangerously close to that cliff-edge but just being kept off it, when Castiel tossed his head and bit down on my shoulder, teeth sinking through the skin and muscle easily. I cried out and tried to strike him, but he anticipated my move and held me down.

"No, Alpha," he growled, lips and chin red and bloody, and I found myself licking my lips, watching him. "You're going to come on my cock alone, and the knowledge that no one in your pack would dare own you like I do, and that you fucking _love _my cock up your ass and my teeth in your body, owning you and claiming you and making you _mine." _

And fuck, did I come at that. It's shameful, but I did. I, Dean Winchester, Alpha of my pack, came from the thought of an Alpha were-cat fucking me. I came from the knowledge that that bite mark would stay there and I'd have to explain, and pass it off as some war injury, when and if I ever got home. My world went white and through it all, Castiel's black-blue eyes were burning into me. He reared up, holding my legs apart, and the rougher he got the more I felt it, battering my body with relentless precision. My cock gave a feeble jerk at every drive into my prostate and it was too much – oversensitive, over stimulated, I clamped down on him and held him to me as he shook through his own orgasm, closing my eyes at the warmth he was giving my body.

"Cas…" I gasped out, unable to say even his full name, and whimpered once more when he pulled out of me. His fingers prodded gently at my entrance, circling and probing at me, his other hand holding me down with ease when I squirmed and tried to get away. "Alpha…"

"I think the victory is all the sweeter because of this," Castiel murmured to himself, and I had no idea what he meant when his now-sky-blue-again eyes flashed to and held my own. "But, if you were female, this would make a much more interesting story."

And then he smirked, a true victor's smirk, and I knew I was in way over my head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Instinct**

**Werewolf/Were-cat AU.  
**

**Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel**

**Rated: NC-17**

**Dean's POV**

**Because a bunch of people said continue (or more like threatened me with grievous bodily harm if I didn't – not naming names). I'm writing this right before I go see the Pope, and then more as I go to babysit a three- and two-year-old. I'm such a role model (:

* * *

**

I didn't sleep that night. Between being worried for my brother, coming up with theories and plans for our escape, and the aches of my body now that it had come down from its high, I was up well into the morning. The Alpha dozed close-by, and though that would have been a perfect opportunity to strike at him, I couldn't until I was sure Sam would get better and be able to run with me. Besides, he had this stillness about him in sleep that made me think he was aware of every muscle I moved, every blink and every breath.

So I waited the night out, my new companion's snores filling the tent.

Dawn rang out bright and early, making the tent translucent, and I stepped out into the cold morning. Castiel's eyes followed me out, and when I exited several were-cats looked at me, baring their teeth in disgust at my lack of shame, but I had nothing to hide from them, or be ashamed about.

I hadn't meant to lose control like that, last night. _I _was the Alpha here, damn it, not Castiel. But that were-cat…God, he just got to me. Instantly under my skin, and I hated him for it, but I needed him; needed to stay close so that, when the time came, I would be able to subdue him if necessary.

Ignoring the glares sent my way from the patrolling were-cats, I entered the healing tent where I'd seen my brother get taken. Inside were several more pelts, this time in formations of three rows of four. In the farthest one I could see the red hair of the female I'd fought, bandages around her torso as she dozed on the fur of a large black bear that dwarfed her in size.

I caught sight of Sam immediately, and he saw me at the same time. I was wary to approach him, knowing he would be able to smell Castiel on me, claimed, but there was no way to avoid it now. I crept closer and sat across from him, cross-legged and facing towards the mouth of the tent, keeping my voice low so as to not wake the female;

"Where's your friend?" I asked, taking my brother in. He had a skin-colored bandage around his forearm that had a few drops of blood staining it from the inside, so it would need to get changed soon, and his leg was splinted to stop it moving. His hair was damp and his body was now free from mud and sweat from running in the marshes, so I figured he must have cleaned himself up at some point – more than I had going for me. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly? I feel kind of amazing," Sam replied, grinning at me in a way that he hadn't done since we were pups. I found myself smiling back on reflex. "He gave me this herb to drink in hot water, and all the pain went away immediately. They don't have stuff like this where we live," he said, gesturing vaguely around him, and I had to nod – werewolves generally could heal themselves, but if they didn't get better fast enough from any disease or injury, they were left behind to die. Medicine didn't grow well in the forests where we lived.

"What's the golden cat's name?"

"Gabriel," Sam said, before fixing me with a speculative look, eyes raking over my body as though he could see all my dirty dark secrets from one glance. He leaned forward, putting his weight on his good arm and buried his nose in my neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell like their Alpha," he commented, voice just bordering on accusatory. "I heard you last night," he continued; "I thought he was trying to kill you. Gabriel had to get other cats to hold me down."

"I'm sorry you were worried," I said, gripping his shoulder gently to help take some of his weight onto myself, tilting my head away so he would have more access to my neck – he was my brother; I trusted him. "I…let the Alpha close." I whispered it, ashamed, closing my eyes as I waited for the barrage my brother was sure to send my way.

He inhaled deeply again, and I'm sure he was able to smell Castiel's pheromones and my own all over me, as there had been no opportunity to clean myself between then and now, and I tensed a little when I felt his teeth against my jugular. "Sam," I breathed, warning – for it is a crime to bite the Alpha; a few years ago I'd been rough-housing with members of my Pack and accidentally shed blood between us, and they had almost been put to death. It's a crime to shed the Alpha's blood, or really touch him without permission, and even my brother had to abide by the rules.

His teeth drew back and he mewled slightly in apology, nuzzling into my neck. I rumbled back my forgiveness, brushing my jaw against his temple and pulling him close before he drew away, and I was startled at the deep, sudden growl he gave.

"He bit you," Sam snarled, eyes darkening as he turned my body, getting a good look at the mark on my shoulder. "The son of a bitch bit you." As a werewolf, we are bred to be overly familial and protective of each other. Biting the Alpha – or any wolf, for that matter – is a serious crime unless it's the work of a mate, and Castiel was definitely not my mate. "I'll kill him. I swear to God, I will."

"Sammy, don't," I said, grabbing for him again and pulling him back down before he could put any weight on his bad leg, forcing him back to my level. "Let it go, baby brother," I purred to him, brushing his hair away from his face. "They have different laws here. Different rules. We have to play by them until we can leave."

"He bit you, Dean," Sam ground out through clenched teeth, as close to growling his words as he could come in human form. "He raped you. What do you expect me to do?"

I shook my head, pulling him close as I licked his temple, taking a small comfort at the taste and smell of my little brother and letting his influence calm me. I kept petting through his hair until I felt his frame relax as well.

"Calm yourself, Sammy, please. Your anger makes you irrational. We'll never get out of here if you don't learn to think rationally." I pulled away with a final small nip, brushing his hair away from his face again. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look murderous anymore either, so I counted it as a win. "As soon as you're healed, we'll run and take our revenge on this place."

Sam smiled, and the tent flap shifted, letting the golden cat back in.

_Gabriel, _I reminded myself; _his name is Gabriel._

He stopped, raising an eyebrow at my brother and I in such an intimate position – pulled close together, our legs entwined and my smell on his face – and gave a low whistle. "Didn't know you two were mates," he commented, sitting down with a bowl in his lap. The white sheet wrapped around his body shifted, falling at the shoulder, and he pushed it back up, dragging his other hand through the white gunk gathered at the bottom of the bowl.

Sam flushed against me. "We're not," he said quickly, pulling away, and I fixed my brother with a curious look, as he'd never done that before. "We're brothers."

Gabriel stopped, frowning slightly and cocking his head to one side, brow furrowed in thought. "Awful close for brothers." I almost smirked at him.

"We're from a different background than you," I muttered, just too loud to be considered under my breath, and laid a hand on Sam's unsplinted calf, ignoring it when he tensed. "Not everyone can be cold towards their own kind. Don't you have brothers?"

Gabriel nodded, going back to stir at the white goo. "The Alpha is my brother, and there are several others in the settlement directly related to me, but…well," he smirked, "I guess you know already that we don't show it as much."

I blinked. "Yeah, I guess," I said, unable to believe for a second that the powerful, dominant Alpha dozing in the tent next door and this unassuming, sarcastic healer were related even a little. Still, there might be a similar way in their manner – how they carried themselves. I don't know – I didn't know Gabriel well enough to judge.

There was a silence before Gabriel pulled his dirtied hand away, wiping it absently on the edge of his robe-like clothing. "Now, Sam, we've gotta change the bandage on your arm," he said, pulling my brother away from my hold, closer to his, and pulled at the tight bandage around Sam's arm. I watched my brother carefully, seeing how he relaxed, a soft almost-smile on his face as he watched Gabriel work that I had only seen when he'd courted…

_Jess._

_Shit._

My eyes widened, putting two and two together. I made a soft noise in the back of my throat, cocking my head towards my brother as I fixed him with a meaningful look. He turned his head to look at me, alerted by the noise I'd made, and I was aware of Gabriel's eyes following us too.

The conversation that ensued kind of went like this;

_Dude, what the fuck is that?_

_What?_

_**That. **__The…thing._

_I'm…what?_

_You. Him. Is there…something?_

_Um…maybe. _Sam looked away, biting his lip and flushing slightly when he looked away and caught Gabriel watching us. _Can we talk about this later?_

_Fine. Later. _

Of course that was all silent and just a complicated mix of facial expressions and body language, but werewolves live off that sort of stuff; it's amazing what conversations we could have with just a look. I sighed, rolling my eyes when I agreed to let the subject go for now, unsure how Sam could judge _me _for what had gone on with Cas when…

Well, rules are different for the Alpha.

Speak of the Devil.

I smelled him before I saw or heard him, my head snapping towards the tent entrance as he pushed through it. He had dressed himself in the typical garb of the were-cats, a sheet of midnight blue-and-black wrapped closely around his body to show off his lithe figure and make his eyes spark. Immediately, and much to my chagrin and embarrassment, pheromones filled the tent, and Sam and Gabriel both looked at me with raised eyebrows. I kept my gaze averted, fixed on Castiel as he walked towards me, all power and authority and cold outer shell.

His gaze was unblinking, fixed on my face as he knelt in front of me, taking my chin in his hand and tilting my head up. Sam growled loudly, about to get up before Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down and making a point of covering his wound in the white gunk before rewrapping Sam's arm, keeping him occupied. Of course, I only saw this out of the corner of my eye because I could only turn a little before Castiel's hand tightened, forcing me to look back at him. Sam growled again but didn't move.

"You're with me today, Alpha, since our hunting party got interrupted last night," he said with a smirk and an appraising look, kneeling down in front of me so our faces were more level. "I hope you can keep up."

"Don't you worry about me," I said in reply, smirking lightly and enjoying the threatening darkness in his eyes. He 'hmm'ed quietly, throwing my head away again before he stood, ignoring my brother's continued angry snarling.

"We leave in an hour. Be ready," was all he said, before he turned and strode out of the tent.

My attention was drawn again when Sam snarled, more loudly now, and when I looked at him his teeth were bared, eyes flashing. "If you expect me to just sit by and watch him treat you like that, Alpha -."

"No, Sammy," I replied, shaking my head. "I'm Dean, in this place. I'm not the Alpha here."

"Yes you are!" he shouted, jerking angrily in Gabriel's hold and hissing slightly when the were-cat merely tightened his grip, keeping him still so he couldn't mess up his injuries any further. "You're _my _Alpha, and my brother, and I can't just sit by and watch you get treated like some _bitch _for that…" His words were cut off when Gabriel's hold suddenly turned painful, forcing Sam's palm up and pushing his arm down, directly over the wound he'd been redressing. Sam choked off with a noise between a whimper and a groan.

"Now you listen here, dog," Gabriel began, voice cold and eyes almost glowing; "You can say whatever shit you want about my family when I'm not here, because I know what others are saying about you, but you will _not _do so in front of me. We talked for a long while last night, Samuel Winchester, and I know that most of what the cats are saying is not true, at least for the few werewolves I know," he paused, smirking slightly, "and so I think it would be in your best interests to try and keep the same open-mindedness when dealing with the settlement here. If you do not, life could get very…messy." He tightened the new bandage around Sam's arm, perhaps with a little more vehemence than necessary, and let it drop in my brother's lap. "Your brother is not the Alpha here – mine is, and as far as the majority is concerned he can do whatever the fuck he wants."

Sam snarled, glaring at Gabriel with murder in his eyes; "Your laws do not govern us, Gabriel."

"Yes, they do," the golden cat replied, standing fluidly with the empty bowl in his hands. "I'll come back in a few hours to check on your leg." Then, he left as well.

I took a deep breath, running a hand through my hair and smirking slightly. "Dude, you're so in love," I said, both as a tension breaker and a way to continue on with the conversation that I so _was not _letting go.

Sam snorted in derision, "No. We're not."

"But there is something there," I said, looking towards my little brother. "Between you and the golden cat. You can't lie to me, Sammy." My little brother flushed, tossed his head, and hunched slightly. Big brother observations for the win.

"He's…intriguing. He has many stories, most of them funny, and interesting views on life." He folded his legs up, ignoring the disapproving glance I sent his way when he put weight on his broken leg, and added; "He lived with the colony down south for five years, ages ago. Way before I was even born." He raised his gaze, looking at me. "This settlement is old, man. Way older than we are. Makes me feel kinda…"

"Like a newbie?" I asked, grinning slightly, and raised my hands at the glare I received for it. "Dude, me too. Castiel ripped me a whole new one last night after you were taken into this tent, and you can kind of…feel it, can't you?" I asked, gesturing vaguely. "There's power here. They're old, and powerful. Can you feel it?"

Sam nodded, looking around like the weird aura around the place would suddenly become visible. "They were here long before we were."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"So Gabriel lived with werewolves down south?"

"Yeah," Sam said, relaxing somewhat back into a position that was more agreeable with the splint on his leg. "He went to heal a were-cat settlement that had been struck with some sort of plague, but when he got there they'd all been wiped out…and he was coming back, but he came across a yearling who had the same disease and treated him. He cured the whole neighboring pack and then, when they were all better, he was invited to stay for as long as he wanted. He knows more than he lets on about our…customs."

I nodded; "Sure knows how to handle your hotheaded ass."

"Dude, I am not hotheaded! If a wolf tried to treat you like that in _our _land -."

"But we're _not _in our land, Sammy," I said, resting a hand on his knee and squeezing lightly, making him meet my eyes. "We aren't, really, and we have to live by their rules, now. Until we get to leave, or we escape, we are not in our lands. If Castiel was _our _prisoner or _our _guest, then yes, he would face punishment. But he's not, and I'm not the Alpha here."

He still wasn't budging; his shoulders were tense and his head dipped, defensive but deferent, and I sighed. "Come here, Sammy," I said, tugging on his hair until he was draped over me, head on my shoulder and arm around my waist. "We'll be okay," I purred into the top of his head, stroking through his hair again and smiling when he curled his hand around my ribcage, gripping loosely. "Love ya, little brother."

Sam chuckled lightly. "What happened to my chick-flick-hating older brother?"

I shoved him away, grinning at the pained hiss when he landed on his injured arm. "Bite me, bitch."

He rolled his eyes, rubbing at his injured arm. "God, you're such a jerk."

"Yep." I stood, dusting myself off. "Now, I got me a hot date with the Alpha." I winked at him, causing him to roll his eyes at me. "Later, dude."

"Be careful, Dean."

The serious tone in his voice was the only thing that kept my snappy remark in check, as I stepped out into the suddenly-warm day. The sun was shining bright and clear, beating down on us from the cloudless sky, and I looked around. Everyone had taken shade in flaps of the tents that could be pulled up and out, held up with poles and sticks and almost doubling the space of the shaded area. I looked around, for some sort of signal or place that would indicate that was where Castiel wanted me to meet him, because, as I was about to find out, the settlement was actually freaking gigantic.

I started off in any direction, wandering towards the less-tented part of the settlement. There were fewer were-cats here, but a hell of a lot more…screaming children. They started up thick and fast, running around the tents and the various campfires set up for roasting food, which filled the air with a thick smell of meat and crushed berries, herbs stuffing the roasts as they turned on spits. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since…wow, three days ago. There hadn't been time, between travel and meetings and then getting captured. Damn.

A couple were-cat children (kittens? Does that sound right?) ran past me, laughing and screaming, followed by a much larger one – maybe around twelve or thirteen.

"Rawr!" he yelled, "Run from the big werewolf!" And the children screamed again, laughing as they got chased into one of the tents. I couldn't help but smirk, because that was a lot like one of the games the pups in our pack played – kind of like our version of 'Cowboys and Indians'. I kept walking, watching as the tents grew thinner until there was one giant one in front of my path, easily three times as big as Castiel's. Curious, and only smelling one recent scent nearby, I crept closer, wary of any threat.

The flap had been raised open, giving me a clear view of the inside. It was surprisingly bare, with the only real feature worth mentioning being a giant stag's horn, curved towards the edge and embedded in solidified wax in the center of the tent. It was beautiful, and grew far larger than the horn of any hart I'd ever seen, almost touching the tips to the canvas.

A branch snapped behind me, and I whirled around, tensed for attack. The she-cat retreated quickly, her eyes wide in fear as she clutched at her overly-swollen stomach. Pregnant. Crap.

We eyed each other for a moment, before I raised up my hands in front of me in surrender, coming out of my aggressive attack stance. She relaxed, just slightly, rubbing her hand absently over her stomach, and I nodded to it; "How far along are you?" I asked.

She smiled slightly, her light blue eyes shining as she looked down at her pregnant belly. "Any day, now. This is where we come to give birth," she replied, amusement in her eyes as she looked back at me.

_Oh. _A birthing tent. That explained the isolation and the lack of furniture. Flushing a little, embarrassed, I stepped away from the opening so that she could walk in, and when she did, she invited me inside to sit. I did, knowing that I actually had about half an hour before I had to meet Castiel, and that this woman had been the first openly friendly person towards my kind in this place.

"What's your name?" I asked, once we were both comfortable on the floor.

"Jo," she said, wincing and grabbing at her stomach for a moment. "Kicker." She grinned at me apologetically. "He's eager to come out."

I smiled. "I remember when my mother was pregnant with Sammy. He was so ready to come out – almost a full week early, and he kicked up a storm right before that. When she was giving birth my mother was screaming at my father that he was never coming near her again and she would put him through hell for what she was going through then." I broke off, grinning at the memory of my frantic father, torn between worrying over his wife and trying to hide from the barrage she was throwing at him. "They were very much in love."

Jo smiled at me, such gentle affection in her eyes, and I blushed, realizing I'd shared a part of myself with this woman I didn't even know. "Where is your mate?" I asked her.

She giggled lightly at me, putting a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm not mated," she said, shaking her head at my shocked look. "Were-cats don't do it like that." She leaned forward, resting a hand on my knee and squeezing gently. "Every year the females who aren't already pregnant or aren't nursing, get their names put into a large bowl and the males pick them out. Then we breed and create the next generation." I blinked at her, shocked;

"What about falling in love?" I asked incredulously. "What if you want to just be mated to the one man? Or cat?"

She smiled again, shaking her head as waves of golden hair fell in her face. "We don't do it like that. Love is for permanent mates – the Alphas and Betas. They don't get to screw around. The rest of us do." She winked at me, and I shook my head, standing. I was about to leave when her voice stopped me; "What's your name, Alpha wolf?" she asked.

I turned around. "Dean."

Jo smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Dean. Have fun with our Alpha." She winked again, and I flushed slightly, and left the tent where I could hear her muttering vaguely about her kicking baby again.

When werewolf mothers gave birth, it was always in their wolf forms – the babies often came out human and therefore it was easier and safer that way, and if they _did _come out as wolves then it was obviously impossible to push them out through human ways, so eventually the wolf form just became necessary. The only people allowed around the birthing mother, by custom, were the father, any previous children, and the Midwife (with a capital M). I was there when my baby brother was born, but not for my half-brother, born seven years after my mother died in a battle over territories. I felt bad for Adam, because he had no true siblings (one of the few in the pack that didn't) and with both of his parents dead, there was no hope for more. Unless he mated with one of the pack members he would likely not make it far in our world, which is a sad thought.

How can were-cats not fall in love? It seems…_stupid. _Yes, alright – as an Alpha I was expected to court and all my relationships were steeped in ritual – and yes, okay, so maybe there was some lenience for screwing around for all members of the pack…but _still. _We fell in _love. _We mated until death do us part. Were-cats…don't.

Makes you think.

My head snapped up, and I had to cover my eyes to shield them from the sun as I looked around, having caught the Alpha's fresh scent. I inhaled again, following his trail out on the Eastern side of the settlement, where he and three other were-cats stood, already phased. I recognized the large black male from the capture party, but the other two were new.

They were _huge. _One the color of platinum, with a sleek grey muzzle, black around the ears and paws, and the second a slightly smaller reddish-brown; kind of like my own but much richer. Like an Irish red. They turned their golden eyes to me, flickering yellow in the light of the sun, and I fought the urge to back down from them as Castiel turned towards me, still human, and walked forward, smirking slightly.

"I'm glad you made it, Alpha," he said, the title only glazed in mockery – not enough to call out. I nodded once to him, crossing my arms over my chest, eyes still on the large platinum cat – I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Change to a wolf, Dean. Let me see you."

My eyes flashed towards him, wary and uncertain, but I obeyed, shifting form as quickly as I could. My limbs grew longer, joints and tendons stretching and relocating awkwardly to accommodate a much larger frame. My face changed shape, becoming more triangular and I felt my senses sharpen – hearing first, as my ears grew shape, then my sense of smell, and finally my sight slamming into focus in one go. I shook my head, clearing it, and stretched out my hind legs, relishing the feeling of new, larger muscles bunching and straining under my new weight.

A low rumble of appreciation escaped the platinum cat, his nostrils flaring as he took in my scent, and I abruptly remembered what Jo had told me. I shook the thought away, because as far as I was concerned, I only answered to the Alpha cat – and even then, only so long as I had to.

Castiel was smiling at me, his eyes holding that same dark, appraising look. "Such a beautiful wolf…" he murmured, reaching up and rubbing his hand along the bottom line of my jaw, and I was torn between wanting to snap his hand off, of bare my throat for more of the petting. Damn house dog tendencies. "My beautiful wolf…"

I didn't get a chance to respond before he was turning away, addressing the three other cats. "Come on – let's go," he said, before snapping into his cat shape. Like, literally, he was human one moment and then a _huge, _midnight blue, _beautiful _cat, almost rivaling the red-gold one in size. He shook his head, arching his back and stretching out his forelegs in front of him, massive claws digging into the dirt, before he turned to look at me over his shoulder.

_Let's go, Alpha._


	3. Chapter 3

**Instinct**

**Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Might become a longer story; not sure yet :/**

**Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel**

**Rated: NC-17**

**Dean's POV**

**Author's Note: Okay, so there are loads of different opinions on the MPreg issue. I'll give people a little more time to respond to try and get a clear majority. For now it's just sex, blood, and rock and roll :D**

**Warning: there's kinda graphic images. They might be squicky :P And smex! Very bloody, bitey, growly, D/s-sort of smex! *yay*

* * *

**

Were-cats and werewolves hunt very, very differently. I learned that the hard way.

Wolves will circle around and trap the prey, but allow it a little bit of a chase. After all, food is plentiful where I live and it's not like we can't catch more. In the marshes that is much, much different. Occasionally there will be deer that wandered a little too far into the marshes and live there, that the cats take down with ease, but usually it's just giant – fucking _huge _– marsh rats that looked like they were some result of genetic mutation, and boars.

The first thing we came across was a young sow. I held back, because she smelled pregnant and if she gave birth then it meant more food in the long run, but the giant black male – Uriel, I had learned was his name – leapt forward immediately, fangs bared and claws unsheathed, and sliced into her back and belly as she tried to run. She let out an ungodly sound, squealing at a pitch that hurt my ears as he took his time with her, savoring the spill of her blood over his coat as he bit into her throat, ripping it out in one smooth jerk. Even as I blanched, my nostrils flared, ears perking up at the scent of food.

Castiel crept forward as Uriel began to chew on the pig's shoulder, tearing off great chunks of meat from her bones before moving aside to let the Alpha have his turn. I nudged the red-gold cat, who had held back, confused as to what they were doing;

"_Shouldn't we be bringing that back to the colony?" _I asked, because with werewolves it is very communal. When it comes to food, everyone gets their share. In fact, those with higher statuses will often give up their rations if it means keeping the pack strong, because a strong pack will keep themselves afloat in the future if the Alpha is gone. Like mine was doing now.

The cat shook his head, rounded ears flickering towards me. _"Sometimes there isn't enough to feed them all. We take what we can, first," _he replied, then stepped forward for his share of the meat, leaving just me and the platinum cat behind. I shifted uneasily, both for the fact that he was staring at me again, and for the _wrongness _that this situation reeked of. Just because the Hunters got there first doesn't mean they should risk starving the rest of them! Food couldn't be _that _hard to find, could it? And plus, they'd spilled the animal's blood so much, that the meat would start to lose all the sweetness of it.

Werewolves are not the savages, here.

The pig was completely stripped bare by the time those three cats were finished, and I ignored the spike of lust and hunger that ran through me when Castiel walked up to me, covered in the pig's blood.

"_You didn't eat," _he noted, azure eyes raking me over appraisingly as his tail flicked around him, falling to the ground. I shook my head.

"_I'll eat when the rest do."_

We kept going, and I took the lead this time, hearing the distant snuffles of some large creature burrowing into the marshes. I slipped occasionally, but the ground was much drier than last night and I kept my lead easily, kind of smug about the harsh panting of the cats as they followed. I found one of the giant swamp rats – again, those things are fucking _huge; _like, my size kind of big – and tackled it silently. It never had a chance – didn't see me coming. With practiced ease I leapt onto its back, grabbing hold of the mass of fur at its neck and bit down on its jaws, keeping them closed. I jerked my head, snapping its spine so it suffered a quick and painless death, and the carcass slumped to the ground underneath me.

I climbed off the rat, panting from the run and shook myself of mud, licking just a little of the blood from my jaws, and looked back, seeing the four cats eyeing me again. _"What?" _I snapped, hackles rising just a little at their expectant looks.

"_You killed it. You eat first," _Castiel replied, cocking his head to one side like I was some sort of idiot.

I snapped my jaws together, growling out low; _"I told you. I eat when the rest do. This meal goes to the colony." _The cats blinked at me, surprised. _"You have easily thirty of you there. Don't you care if they eat? Just because you Hunt does not give you a right over anyone else." _I snapped my jaws again. _"This is for them, not us."_

"_They aren't even your people. Why do you care?" _the red-gold cat said, already eyeing the carcass hungrily, as he had been the last to feed from the pig and had gotten the least, aside from the platinum cat and myself. I stood in front of the dead swamp rat, blocking it from their view.

I growled low at him, threatening, because I would fight for it. _"Hunters help the others. Without them, the colony starves. Without the colony, the Hunters are wiped out from enemies. It is a balance we must keep."_

"_You are a fool, Alpha wolf," _Uriel said derisively, snorting and tossing his large head, and looking to Castiel for confirmation. The Alpha cat was watching me with a kind of calculating look, his nose twitching just a little as he thought.

"_If I ordered you to give up that meal, Dean, what would you do?"_

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. I quickly looked at the other cats, sizing them up, because I was abruptly aware that they could very easily kill me and leave me in the marshes, and tell Sam I was gored by a boar or something. Even if Sam didn't believe me, he was heavily outnumbered, and wouldn't last long. No one would be able to hear me, out here.

Still…I straightened, looking him dead in the eye; _"Give me your best shot, _Alpha," I said, bracing myself for a fight to break out.

Uriel growled, upper lip curling back as he advanced on me, claws unsheathed and ready for the fight. I wasn't expecting Castiel to hiss at him, ears flat back against his head, serrated teeth poised and ready to crush the insubordinate. Uriel subsided with a low rumble, obviously not happy about it, and Castiel looked back to me.

"_Take your meal and share it out," _he snarled, his tone as patronizing and derogatory I think he could get without using slander; _"We shall return after our hunt." _Then, with a dismissive flick of his tail, he strode past me, the others following closely behind, the platinum cat brushing a little too close for my liking, and as he finally left his tail curled around the inside of my hind leg. I shied away before he could…touch anything, and I heard his low rumble of a laugh before he was running, catching up to the other three who had already taken off.

_Creepy fucking cat._

I would have to keep an eye on him.

I grabbed the scruff of the carcass in my mouth, dipping my shoulder so that it was draped mostly across my back. The position was awkward, and I had to pause every mile or so to re-shift the load, but I managed to drag it to the colony alright. The first place I went was to the birthing tent.

Turning back into a human, I tore off a leg from the rat, figuring Jo would be able to cook it herself, and went inside. She was still pregnant, grinning at me as she rubbed her stomach and nodded to the bit of blood around my mouth. "Good hunt?"

"You tell me," I said, handing her the leg and smiling when she just bit right in – I'd been craving a bit of the raw meat myself, and took a little when she handed me a piece, chewing it in silence with her. "Good?" I asked when I'd swallowed.

She nodded. "Very good, Dean, thank you," she replied, smiling as she finished off the leg in record time, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "It's been a while since I've eaten this much," she said, almost embarrassed.

"How long?"

"About a week."

I blinked at her, surprised. A _week? _For a pregnant woman who was about to give birth? That's just…not right! "That's so screwed up, Jo, I can't even begin." I shook my head, trailing off. "You should be eating better."

She shrugged, and said nothing, and I took that as my cue to leave. I shared out the rat with many of the mothers and children around the birthing tent, only saving a little from the neck meat for Sam when I reached him. By the time I had there was blood all along my forearms and around my face, and I smirked at the flash of concern in his eyes before he relaxed, realizing it wasn't mine.

"Good hunt?" he asked, and I smiled and tossed him some of the raw meat. He caught it in his injured arm and started eating, giving a little moan of appreciation. I sat down beside him.

"Are your injuries feeling better?" He nodded, showing off his now-unbandaged-and-looking-completely-better arm. I gave a low whistle. "That healer cat sure knows his stuff." Sam nodded again, biting his lip lightly as he played with the fur lying under his knee. "Sammy? What's up?"

"Nothing…it's just…" He trailed off, biting his lip again before looking up, but not at me. "You know how you were talking about…the thing?"

"The thing?" I repeated, kind of knowing where he was going with it but honestly – a little sadistic part of me – wanted to hear him say it. "What thing."

"The…" His face screwed up in discomfort. "Thing. With me and Gabriel." I grinned, and nodded. "Well I…" He looked down again, pulling at a few of the pieces of fur. "I think…"

"You like him," I finished for him, having mercy. He nodded. "Aw, Sammy, what are you so nervous about?"

Sam looked up, this time right at me, and hissed the next words, his voice low and urgent; "He's not _like _us, Dean. He's not…" He gestured vaguely at the tent opening. "He's not a werewolf. We can't…It wouldn't work."

"Who says?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, because as far as I knew Sammy was kind of set on breaking all kinds of traditions – including going so far as sleeping with another species. Sam blinked at me, surprised. "Sam, whoever you decide to love is fine by your Alpha…and with me," I added sincerely, dipping my head so I could look him in the eye. I smiled when his eyes flashed my way. "If he makes you happy, then I'm on board. But please, Sammy, be sure." If my brother did something and then had it blow up in his face, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He'd nearly fallen apart after Jess died – I didn't want to see that again.

He smiled at me. "I will, Dean. Alpha. Thank you." I nodded to him again, smiling, then the moment was over and he sat back, sighing heavily. "We won't be getting out of here any time soon. My leg was fractured in three different places and they'll take time to heal."

"That's okay," I replied. "If worse comes to worst, we can call the pack up here to lay siege until they let us go. I want this to go as peacefully as possible."

Sam nodded. "The pack will definitely be worried by now. Probably be looking for us," he whispered.

"They won't find us," I said confidently. "I didn't catch any of our scents at all along the marshes. For all they know, we made it back to the were-cat colony we were visiting, or are off in the woods somewhere. In any case, they won't get led here. I'm sure of it." There was a yowl outside, followed with cries of 'The Hunters are home!', and I took that as my cue to leave. I stood up, ruffling Sam's hair affectionately. "I'll see you later, and hey –." I paused right outside the tent flap; "Get to second base, at least."

"You're an idiot!" Sam's voice followed me out, and I chuckled, eyes following the movements of the cats I hadn't fed as the four giant blood-covered cats walked into the center of the settlements, gathered with hungry mindlessness around the carcasses. The Hunters moved back, Castiel gave a dismissive flick of his tail, and the colony descended. They were like flies, desperately clawing at the carcass and each other in an effort to get food for themselves. I suddenly saw why the Hunters felt the need to eat first, before they came back – they wouldn't get the chance, in that riot.

_Savages, _my mind told me, and I had to nod along with the thought. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing, and was glad I had already fed the children and most of the women, so that they didn't have to fight. I watched on with horror as, before my eyes, one were-cat male was clawed at, sharp nails digging right through his throat, and he began to choke on his own blood. Even before he died the other cats had started turning to him for more food.

Castiel was suddenly there, his hand restraining on my shoulder to stop me going forward to stop the scene. "He's already gone," he whispered, bright blue eyes focused on the carnage. I fought off his hold and whirled on him;

"Why the fuck aren't you doing anything? This is savagery! _Cannibalism!" _I yelled, gesturing wildly behind me. Castiel merely blinked, impassive. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't understand why you're so upset. It's the natural order of things," he said, voice low and flat, eyes dark. "We don't do things the same way you do, Dean. The greater good is not possible, sometimes. Sacrifices must be made."

"Not a life, Castiel," I growled at him, jabbing a finger in his direction. "People can be fed without having to kill each other to do it."

Castiel's eyes flickered over my shoulder for a moment, where the initial rush had died down, and now there was just the crunch of bone and the tearing of meat, the occasional growl and fight over a piece of meat. Then, his eyes met mine again. "I disagree. Where is the body you brought back?" he asked before I could respond.

I folded my arms over my chest, still glaring at him defiantly. "I fed people with it."

He nodded. "How many died?"

"None! That's my point, Castiel – none of them have to die! All those children and women; they could be caught in the scrimmage right now, and they could die. What about the pregnant, the nursing? I fed them, and if I hadn't they'd probably be dead right now."

His eyes darkened, a low, threatening growl rumbling from his chest as he stepped forward, baring his teeth slightly. "You watch your tone with me, dog. I'm in no mood for your righteous indignation. Some of us cannot afford to feed everyone."

"Perhaps you should at least try," I snapped back before I could stop myself, instantly regretting the words as Castiel snarled and grabbed me, pulling me into his tent with enough force that the thing damn near collapsed.

"You think you know better than I do?" he snarled, pushing me onto the ground forcefully. "You think you can just waltz in here and question the way we do things? Like you're any better?" My head snapped to the side as I felt his fist connect, and pain blossomed along the side of my head. I rolled away from him, gasping at the suddenness of his violence, but he was already there, shoving me down again with another punch. "Do you know how hard I had to fight to not just kill you when we found you? How much I'm putting on the line for _you? _Fucking ungrateful wolf!" He was suddenly on top of me, baring his teeth as his deceptively strong body pinned me down. "Well, no more. You're _mine, _and it's time you acted like it." Then, he bit me.

He fucking bit me.

I felt every inch of his serrated, jagged teeth as they sank into the exposed skin of my throat. I was aware of the pains of my body, where he'd landed blows, and where his hand was knotted in my hair, pulling my head to one side to bare my throat. My body arched, I choked on a gasp as I felt him pierce the jugular, blood pouring out thick and fast, into his mouth and staining the fur below me. I felt the hair stick to my wet shoulder and back, soaked in my own blood.

"Castiel…" I grabbed for his head, trying to pull away, but he snarled a warning and started to close his jaws. I whined when I felt flesh tear, pain flooding my body, white-hot and agonizing. He was too strong; I couldn't push him away, and the more he bit down, the more blood poured out and the weaker I felt myself getting.

When I thought I was going to pass out from blood loss, I felt him slowly withdraw. I whimpered lightly when his serrated teeth caught on the opening, tearing a little more on the exit. I was still grabbing onto his head, unable to get my hands to relax, and he moved so that his face was hovering above mine, his mouth, jaw and just under his nose smeared with my blood. He was breathing heavily, eyes lust-dark and pupils blown wide, and I jerked against him, overwhelmed by the amount of desire that seeing him covered in my blood caused me. I whined again, hating how much my behavior was like a bitch in heat, and even more so to find that I couldn't really stop myself from grabbing hold of his head and sealing our lips together.

The taste of my blood flooded my mouth as he took control easily, effortlessly sliding his tongue into my mouth, claiming, _owning. _His hands took a firm hold of my waist as he slid down my body, and I felt every inch of sweaty, mud-and-blood-covered skin and muscle against mine. The tent was filled with pheromones, so potent that they made me dizzy, along with the amount of blood I lost, and it was all I could do to stay conscious for a while longer.

Castiel began to speak again, drawing away from my mouth and nipping, licking and biting his way down my body; "You are _mine, _Alpha. My prisoner, my wolf." He sucked a bruise onto my collarbone and I whined, back arching as his bloody hand closed around my cock, stroking agonizingly slowly. "You threaten me, disrespect me in front of my clan members, and go against my wishes with a single-mindedness that makes me think you are either very daring, or very stupid." I whimpered as I felt his teeth slide into the side of my torso, piercing until he reached the last bones of my ribcage and clamped down, his free hand teasing and playing with one of my nipples, making it red and swollen. "Your brother seems intent on either seducing or killing mine…What do you have that I want?" The way he asked it didn't seem like he wanted and answer – he withdrew his teeth from that second bite, licking around the little amount of blood that had begun to pour out, quickening the pace that he stroked me with, tightening his fist on the upstroke until I was panting, bucking my hips up to try and get closer, to get him to give me what I needed.

When he lips sealed around my cock, I howled pitifully, driven so close to that edge by the wet-tight heat of his mouth, and just the little catch of his teeth against my skin. He could so easily keep hurting me, but he didn't – his hands turned gentle, his eyes bright and _so _blue and knowing as they watched me. I could feel his eyes on my face and, with great effort, lifted my head to look at him. _Fuck, _he looked beautiful like that, full lips reddened from my blood, stretched around my cock as he kept sinking down, creating a delicious suction-wet _mess _that felt _so fucking good, _and his bright eyes boring into mine as though he could take me apart with his gaze alone. I ran a shaking hand through his hair, staining his forehead with rat blood, and he purred, closing his eyes and tilting his head just a little, and I felt the smallest catch of teeth against the head, and I came.

The combination of blood loss, scent and the orgasm overwhelmed me. I felt dizzy and exhausted, falling back against the furs as Castiel pulled away, jerking me through my orgasm – because he certainly wouldn't swallow. I almost smirked at that thought, before he was rolling me onto my stomach. I felt his arms brace himself on either side of my torso, his breath hot along the back of my neck as he ground against me, not fully entering me but damn near close. It only took a moment or two before he was coming, and I felt his seed all over my lower back and ass. He was marking me again.

For a while, the only sound was our breathing as he nuzzled into the unbitten side of my neck, surprisingly affectionate after that fight-angry-sex-episode (whatever the hell you want to call it) we'd just had. He was purring against me – I felt it as a rumble in his chest against my back – as he relaxed, his weight just short of suffocating.

"What do you have that I want?" he asked again, this time sounding faintly frustrated and more than a little curious. I turned my head, meeting his gaze.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, because to me Castiel seemed kind of schizophrenic, and it seemed like he kept trying to decide between fucking me, fighting me or just killing me outright. "What is it that you want?"

Castiel shook his head and shifted his weight so he was lying next to me, and I relaxed slightly, exhausted and unable to stay up for another second, drifting off to sleep. The last thing I felt was a wet tongue against my back and neck, and I had just enough time to realize that Castiel was licking me clean before exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep.

_**I'd just like to say that I didn't mean for it to turn that…bloody? Very gory. Sigh. Hope you liked, though (:**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Instinct**

**Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Might become a longer story; not sure yet :/**

**Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel**

**Rated: NC-17**

**Dean's POV**

**Author's Note: Alright, a lot of you are wanting to see a bit of Sam/Gabriel action, or some things from Castiel's perspective. While I'm more than happy to address stuff like that in a timestamp, or something, I CAN'T do Sam/Gabriel explicitly because it's from Dean's POV, and that would be awkward unless there was a foursome going on, or something :D Similarly, the fact that it's Dean's POV means the only things we get from Castiel are his words and his actions in Dean's eyes. I can do timestamps, but for the sake of the original storyline I can't say much of that will be coming.**

**Warnings: Grooming? xD Unwanted attention from the platinum cat? :P Angst and emo!SOB!Cas? (He gets better after this chapter).

* * *

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I woke up well rested, warm and clean. The fur below me smelled of old blood and sweat, and Castiel was a warm mesh of hard lines and firm muscle, plastered to my back and side, one leg thrown over and between my own, one arm around my torso, gripping possessively. I shifted a little, expecting to feel the cracked, dry sensation of drying blood and come on my body, but there was nothing. Just cleanliness.

Castiel had been licking me clean when I went to sleep. He must have kept going.

Even as that thought registered, the Alpha stirred behind me, a low rumble echoing in his chest as he buried his face into the back of my neck, his tongue and lips rasping against the sensitive area at the base. I shivered against him as he licked up to my hairline, his hand curling slightly as he ran it down my flank, petting my sides until I felt ticklish and shied away. I turned my head to meet his bright blue eyes that were still dull from sleep, noting that he still wore my blood and the mud of the hunt on his body. He hadn't had time to clean himself before he fell asleep.

Wolves typically bathe in large rivers and lakes that we find in our forests – we try and keep to running water but sometimes that's just impossible – and therefore the need to groom is done more out of ritual than anything else. However, out in the marshes the were-cats must have to clean themselves, and even as I watched Castiel sat up, putting distance between us – I got goose bumps where his warm body used to be as cold air rushed in – and started licking at his hand, rubbing along his face to smear my blood away. I felt a little…disappointed to watch it go.

Were-cats don't mate, I knew now, but for wolves grooming and cleaning is a huge thing – only family members and mates really do it regularly unless it's an emergency like an infected wound or something – and it made me wonder how exactly Sam had been cleaned when I saw him yesterday morning.

It also made me wonder where exactly I stood with Castiel, because I certainly wasn't his mate.

Still, if there was any way to get myself as close as possible to the Alpha (that I hadn't already done) this seemed to be it. I sat up, stretching like the cats do – and I didn't miss Castiel's appraising glance thrown my way – and went over to him, sitting close into his personal space.

"Something on your mind, Alpha?" he asked me in a mix of amusement and darkness – bastard probably knew exactly what his gesture last night had meant, was using it against me, because that's the way Alphas work; always getting ahead of the game and the opposition and staying there. He stopped trying to clean his face, seemingly frustrated with the amount of dirt that kept coming back no matter how much he tried to clean it off – and without any sort of reflective surface, he couldn't see if it was all gone – and instead turned his attention to the rest of his body.

He curled his legs towards him and, in a move I knew I was far too inflexible to pull off, started wiping his damp hand along them, occasionally following it with his tongue, a lot like the cats would were he in that form. I smirked and couldn't help the thought;

"Ever thought of blowing yourself that way?" Because it would definitely be possible – he was practically folded in half, and it wouldn't be much more of a stretch to…

Castiel straightened and cocked his head at me, like I had just started speaking another language. Then, he smirked; "It's more satisfying when another person does it," he said, and then went right on back to cleaning himself.

"Let me," I said, smiling a little when he straightened again, cocking his head to one side and blinking at me owlishly. It wasn't a 'Yes', but it wasn't a refusal either. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his jaw, tongue shaking out to taste his skin actively for the first time since we met. He purred lightly, tilting his head towards me and down so that I wasn't by his neck. I mewled gently but didn't argue, instead licking around his mouth and jaw, cleaning away the blood, sweat and grime that had gathered there. It wasn't exactly pleasant – dried blood mixing with the damp musk of the marshes and the salt of Castiel's sweat – but underneath it laid the glorious flavor of _the Alpha. _A strong, heady scent that I was overwhelmed with on the first hint of it, and delved for, delirious almost, thoroughly cleaning Castiel's face until I found myself next to his mouth, full lips parted as his breath panted out of him. I drew away just slightly, able to see his dark, hooded eyes and slightly flushed skin, and ran my hand up to the side of his face, drawing him to me again as I kissed him, both of our flavors mixing together as he moaned into my mouth. I was pushed slightly off balance as he came closer to me, his hands grabbing at my body with a fierce possessiveness that I groaned at, loving the feeling of his blunt nails digging into my still-sore skin.

Shameless, I ground against him, finding a perfect spot on his upper thigh to ride as I felt myself hardening, desire pooling low in my gut, and he huffed out a laugh when we broke away for air. "You're insatiable, Alpha," he said in a mix of exasperation and playful amusement, smiling against my lips when I simply mewled and pulled him back to me. This was the most passive I'd ever had him and I was determined to enjoy it and make it last as long as I could. I kissed him gently, a low thrum of need making me shiver as I combed my fingers through his hair, relishing the little purr of pleasure he gave.

Pheromones stung my nose as I rode Castiel's thigh, one hand reaching down to find and curl around the Alpha's cock, and I stroked him loosely, slowly, loving the desperate little bucks of his hips that he couldn't stop himself making.

It wasn't long that the Alpha let me have a semblance of control – he pushed me onto my back, thighs tensing as he shoved us both back, and the landing knocked the wind out of me a little. I chuckled against him, continuing with the task I'd been distracted from, bypassing his neck entirely as it was an area he wasn't comfortable with me being in, and to his collarbone and shoulder where the tang of sweat seemed most potent, around his armpit which only had the lightest smattering of hair, and before I knew it Castiel was at my neck, straddling my lap as he sank his sheathed teeth into the bite mark he'd left behind, nipping almost enough to break the skin again. The threat of it made me shiver.

"I shall take you hunting again, Alpha," Castiel murmured against my racing pulse, his low rumble of a voice sending shivers down my spine as he rasped the words into my ear; "I know you didn't eat much, and I took a lot of blood from you last night." I didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking.

"Just the two of us?" I asked, unable to stop the little bit of hope in my voice – if I managed to connect to my pack while we were out, I could have them get Sam out and neutralize Castiel before the were-cat colony knew what hit them. I didn't want to kill Castiel, because the man was powerful and would be a good ally if necessary, and the less enemies I had the better, but that wouldn't stop me if it came down to it.

I ignored the fact that it became just a little harder to breathe at the thought of killing him.

Castiel chuckled, this time his serrated teeth _just _scratching at my neck, leaving red lines behind. "Just the two of us." Then, he buried his face in the side of my neck, somehow managing to keep his own away from my mouth as his hand knotted at the back of my head and tilted me away, and I growled when he ground down one last time, our hard cocks rubbing together before he pulled back, standing up and looking calm and collected as always.

"I have some things to settle, but we will leave in a few hours," he said, going to one side of the tent where the sheets hung that the cats used to clothe themselves. He took another midnight blue one and folded it in half, draping the fold over his shoulder and then wrapping the rest of it around himself. One loose end was pinned down by the mass of the other half of the sheet, and the last corner tucked under his arm securely. He paused once he was done, looking to me then the tent opening, and then tossed another to me – this one black with a hint of green around the edges. I caught it, feeling the material, which felt coarse and scratchy, but was satin soft on the inside where it touched skin. "Wear that until then – we don't want an episode." I didn't ask what he meant, but I was almost certain that it concerned Sam.

I flushed on my brother's behalf and stood up, holding the sheet out in front of me. He made it look easier than it actually was, but I managed to fix it – after a few failures that I'd rather not relive – and by that time the Alpha had long gone.

Sam raised an eyebrow, seeing me like that, and nodded in my direction. "You've gone native," he commented and I smirked, sitting down next to him. The way the sheet was wrapped made it impossible to sit cross-legged unless I hiked it right up to my hips, defeating the purpose, so I sat with my legs folded up in front of me, arms around them.

"Yeah," I said, shrugging because, as I'd wrapped myself up, I realized why Castiel had told me to wear it – I was covered in his marks. Bruises, bites, territorial proof of possession that, in my culture, would be unheard of. Sam would freak if he saw them. "But it feels kinda good. Really soft, like a second skin," I added, gesturing for him to feel at the hem where it fell half way down my shin. He reached forward and pinched the end, feeling it and whistling appreciatively.

"I wonder where they got material like this," he wondered aloud, and I nodded, because I couldn't think of anything that could be that soft in the marshes. Then, he stilled. "Dean," he growled, and I followed his suddenly dark gaze to my…shit, my shoulder. Where the wrap had fallen slightly from being too loose, revealing just the beginning of Castiel's bite; "What the fuck is that?"

"Nothing, Sammy," I said, covering my shoulder and getting up before he could touch it. He growled in frustration when he tried to follow, but his leg wouldn't support him. "You don't need to know anything except that it was completely consensual and that's it."

"Dean." Sam's voice was a low growl, and all he said was my name.

I sighed, trying desperately to get my brother to understand that this was all _necessary. _"_Please, _Sam. _Please _don't make a big deal out of this. This isn't our world." I gestured around me. "I'm not your Alpha here, and their culture doesn't mean the same as us. This doesn't mean I'm marked, or I'm mated, here. This is a crime of passion, okay? Let it go."

"I don't understand how you can just be so cavalier about this, Dean. You're _my _Alpha and you've just been…_claimed _by the enemy. You can try and understand my point of view here."

I sighed, hating myself even as I said the next words; "Fine, Sam. As your Alpha, I'm demanding that you let this the _fuck _go," I growled, using the voice I did when giving orders – it contains a…quality, that's the only way I can describe it, that just _makes _wolves obey. Or make them very unwilling to disobey. I remember when my father – the Alpha before me – had used it on the other wolves, and I'd felt the power of it vibrate through my very _soul. _It's that powerful. "Got it?" I softened my voice, because I hated making Sam so stuff like this, and I hated that he had driven me that far.

Sam's head dipped in submission, his shoulders slumped. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Yes, Alpha. Forgive me, Alpha," he whispered, and damn it, that just about broke my heart. I sighed again and knelt in front of him, dropping to my knees and grabbing for his head before he could shy away from me, making him meet my eyes.

"Hey, Sammy, hey…" I murmured, soothing him gently as I brushed his hair away from his face; "It's okay, Sammy, you didn't do anything wrong." I _hated _using that 'ordering' voice, even more when Sam trembled against me, fearing some sort of retribution or heavy-handed punishment as the previous Alphas had always been eager to dole out.

I was trying to enforce the peaceful way of settling things, but sometimes that just didn't cut it. "Calm down, little brother; you're okay," I continued, brushing my hand slowly through his hair again, and then looked up as the tent flap opened and Gabriel stepped in.

The were-cat paused, taking in the sight again (this must really be getting old for him) before he sat down next to Sam, very pointedly putting a hand on my brother's shoulder. It wasn't a huge gesture, but it was everything that my brother's shaking calmed significantly under his small touch, and he subconsciously turned more towards Gabriel. I released his head; glad that at least he was calmed now.

"You okay there, kiddo?" the were-cat asked, voice low and soft, but his eyes were full of heat as he practically glared my way. Sam nodded slightly, but Gabriel's continuing hostile gaze did nothing to make me think it had helped any, and I sat back as Gabriel petted through my brother's hair until Sam seemed himself again, blowing out his breath heavily and rubbing at his face like he was coming out of a sleep. "Can I have a word with you, Alpha wolf?" Gabriel asked, jerking his head towards the tent opening.

I nodded after a moment, looking towards Sam who wasn't giving me any clues – he seemed just as confused as I was, with a little touch of anxiety to top it all off – and I rubbed his shoulder gently, resting my forehead against his for a second before I stood up, following Gabriel out of the tent.

The were-cat looked…ruffled. That's the only way I can describe it. If he were a cat he'd probably be puffed up, back arching, hair standing up on end, ears back. As a human, the only giveaway was the wildness in his eyes and the way he was eerily still, body vibrating with the need to move.

His golden eyes flashed to mine. "Look, I don't like you," he said. I blinked at him, surprised, but he continued before I could respond; "I'm not sure about you, at least. You and your brother come in here and fuck everything up, and I'm not sure what to make of you. You don't _have _to keep sleeping in my brother's tent, but you do, and I know you have an ulterior motive, but it can't be stupid enough to just try and kill him." He paused, smirking slightly, and I cocked my head to one side, knowing he would continue with my input or not. "So I'm not sure about you at all. I think I'm meant to hate you, but I don't. And I…I want your permission."

Again, I blinked. I opened my mouth to reply but he interrupted again – "I like Sam. Like, a stupid amount for someone I'm meant to want to kill. He's like a giant puppy and he's so hotheaded and narrow-minded and I'm fascinated by him. I know that your custom is for the male to ask the family and Alpha of the female to court. Sam's not a female, but he's certainly not gonna make the first move. And you're…both. So, regardless of how I feel about you, I really like your brother, and I'd like your permission to court him."

I had to take a moment to wrap my head around that weird proposal-insult that that was. Trust the golden cat to make an awesome thing to happen to my brother something to just be an inconvenience to him. Eventually I actually got what he was asking, and I nodded; "I think you'd be a good match for him. You have my permission and my blessing," I said, grinning at his surprised look – he struck me as the type who would ask, wait for my rejection then go right on ahead anyway. But it would mean a lot to Sam if their relationship to have my blessing, and I knew my little brother held at least respect for Gabriel.

What their relationship would mean for the pack and the colony, should it flourish and we didn't leave soon, I didn't want to think about. Breaking off something in the early courting stages shouldn't be too damaging to Sammy, at least.

Gabriel blinked at me, and then nodded, and I folded my arms over my chest as I nodded back. We'd come to an understanding, and I was grateful to the golden cat to at least be there for my brother while we were here. Then, his golden eyes flashed over my shoulder, and looked behind me to see –

"Michael," Gabriel said, his tone bored-sounding and just a little bit insolent. I turned, taking in the newcomer. He was staring at me, amber-yellow eyes practically glowing as he smiled my way, serenely with just a hint of menace and…lust. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to the Alpha wolf," the were-cat replied, his voice a smooth purr like whiskey and chocolate, and I jerked as I recognized the voice of the platinum cat that had all but molested me yesterday on the hunt. Wow…words cannot describe how much I did _not _want to talk to Michael. Especially alone, as Gabriel was probably about to go off and let Sam know he could officially court my little brother. Michael's eyes bored into mine the whole time during my inner monologue; "I was told he was visiting his brother."

I swallowed, and nodded; "Yeah," I choked out, just catching the hint of Michael's scent – since I was downwind and it was blowing quite strongly, I couldn't smell him very well – and the pheromones mixed in with it. Wow…this is so uncomfortable. "Well, here I am." If I kept him in a public place then…

"Please, Alpha," Michael said, stepping to the side and gesturing back the way he'd come, and his movement sent a whole new wave of his scent my way. I almost staggered under the heady call – almost as potent as Castiel's, maybe even the same in different ways. "This way."

Gabriel wasn't going to help, and the only options I could think of would only make me look like a coward. I'm not a coward. Definitely. But I knew this wouldn't end well. For the sake of my pride, I ignored my gut instinct and nodded, letting him lead the way past Sam's tent, and then Castiel's, towards the Northern side of the encampment as it thinned out, a few tents become fewer and fewer until there were just two right next to each other. "Mine and my brother's," Michael said in explanation, opening one and gesturing inside.

I hesitated, then, folding my arms over my chest, shifting in unease. Okay, so maybe I was a little bit of a coward. "If you wanted to talk to me, we can do it outside," I said.

Michael smiled, and laughed easily. "Alright, Alpha. Of course." Then he gestured to a banked fire with two logs positioned around it, and took a seat on one end of one. I took the other end, not wanting to be rude about it but also wanting to make it perfectly clear that I wasn't comfortable here.

We sat in silence for a couple minutes, Michael just staring at the ashes of an old fire before he smiled my way, all charm and easy manner and creepy cheer; "I must confess I'm awfully curious about you, Alpha wolf. I spent a few years in my youth with a werewolf settlement and it's been years since I've been around them. Tell me, do you know of a Sarah Milligan?"

I blinked, because I did – she was my half-brother's mother. She'd come from a different pack, traveling when she met my father.

When I nodded, he beamed, flashing white teeth my way; "She was the daughter of the Alpha of the pack I was staying with. You're such fascinating creatures, really, how you interact. So different, I find, and much more casual." He leaned towards me, and I had just enough presence of mind to be wary, because he really was quite charming and relaxed, and it was hard to be on guard when he was so open and friendly like this.

"Yes," I said, because it seemed like I should at least contribute to the conversation; "It surprised me at first, especially when I met a pregnant Queen – Jo – and she told me you guys don't even mate, or anything. Not really, anyway."

Michael smiled again and made a dismissive noise; "No, that is the like for the Alphas, because a colony needs a stable Queen…or Alpha mate," he said, pausing as he eyed me up again, and I flushed, fidgeting because for Castiel I was just a willing fuck, nothing more than that. "The same goes for the Beta. But, for the rest of us…it's a free-for-all."

I sighed, because that was a subject that still didn't sit right with me. "I can't imagine a life like that," I commented.

"Because you are an Alpha. You are designed to just find one," Michael replied with an easy smile, sitting forward again. I didn't have room to scoot back without falling off the log and on my ass. "One mate for the Alpha, isn't it, wolf?" he purred, and his mouth was suddenly right by my ear, his scent surrounding me, making me dizzy. I gasped, just managing to scramble away from him before he could touch me more, backing away as quickly as I could.

"You're out of line, Michael," I growled at him, trying to draw on my own authority, but that's the problem – I had _none, _here. To Michael, and every other were-cat, I was just another female to fuck. "Your attentions are unasked for and unwanted."

"I'm just being friendly, Alpha," Michael replied, standing up and smiling, but his scent told mea _very _different story, and I shook my head, clearing it before it could take hold. He was stepping forward, and I could read the intent in his eyes, and I backed up again because though I shrugged it off, I _did _need to eat and keep up my strength because the blood loss, lack of food and Michael's _scent _was overwhelming me, and that said a lot about my physical state. I probably would be able to fight him off, but it wouldn't last long. Then, suddenly my back connected with warm flesh, a new scent pervading my brain that I definitely recognized. Castiel.

His chest rumbled against mine, and it took me a moment to realize he was growling. More like snarling, as I turned my head and saw his teeth bared and jaws parted, a low, threatening sound just escaping him. Michael stared Castiel right down – and that insolence would have gotten him punished in _my _pack – before Castiel yanked on my arm, directing me away.

I was at once relieved and worried, because Castiel looked murderous and I didn't think I could withstand another round with him at that moment, but he merely shoved me forward once we were out of the camp, uttering just once terse word; "Change."

He was a cat before I was a wolf, his weird snapping ability providing his advantage, and we were off before I could even blink. He had the head start, but my stride was longer and I managed to catch up soon enough. Castiel ran with a single-minded purpose – he ran for the sake of putting distance between us and the camp. While he was occupied and therefore not able to hear me, I searched out for any member of my pack that might be nearby.

No one.

We were twelve miles out when Castiel slid to a halt, waiting for me to stop as well. As soon as I did he was on me, pinning me down with a loud snarl that seemed to echo around the marshes. I whimpered instinctively, unable to imagine what I had done to make Castiel so angry. His teeth pierced the scruff of my neck, shedding blood easily as he bit down from behind me, mounting me like the animal he was suddenly so like. I whimpered again, thinking he was about to fuck me right here – which would be unpleasant, because it's not like we're proportional, okay? Castiel would rip me apart – when he growled again and shoved at me until I was laying underneath him, his sleek and muscular body pinning me down with ease, sharp claws digging into my flanks.

"_Did he touch you?" _Castiel growled at me, and I looked at him in confusion.

"_What?"_

"_Did. The fucker. Touch. You?" _The Alpha cat was _this _close to beating the answer out of me, I'm sure, and my mind – out of a sense of self preservation – put two and two together. _"Answer me!"_

"_No, Alpha, no," _I replied quickly, fearing he could tear right through my neck before he even realized. Pain was a constant throb in my neck, sharpening the rest of my senses. _"I swear. I didn't let him. Please, Castiel, let go."_

There was a pause, an infinitely long one, before he growled and subsided, letting go of my neck after a moment as well so I could breathe. I inhaled the dank air greedily, feeling blood run down my neck to the ground and stain it. So much for getting my strength back.

"Forgive me," Castiel said, and I looked to see he'd changed into a human again. I cocked my ears forward, but followed suit – we couldn't exactly communicate otherwise. He looked…almost ashamed, eyes dark and averted towards the ground, his expression almost guilty underneath the cool façade.

I almost growled at him, angry and tired of his shifting mood and his constant change between calm and angry and lustful. "No," I snapped, a little smug when his eyes snapped to my face, wide with disbelief that I should stand up to him. Again. "What the fuck was that about, Castiel?"

"Michael." He spat the name. "Tried to touch something that wasn't his. Something that's _mine."_

"Let me set this perfectly straight," I growled, stalking up to him; "I _don't _fucking belong to you, understand? You are _not _my mate, and I am _not _yours, and the sooner you get that through your thick feline skull the better. I can go and talk to, touch, _fuck _–" he flinched at the word "– whoever I damn well please, and until you learn to cool the hell down, all I'm ever going to be is your prisoner."

His eyes had darkened again, a mix of angry and so fucking old and sad that I almost took it all back. "I don't want you to be just my prisoner, Dean," he whispered, so softly I almost didn't hear it, as he looked down again.

"Then what _do _you want?"

Castiel's eyes flashed back up to mine, and they held a thousand things that he didn't say. "I don't know."

I shook my head. "That's not a good enough answer, Cas. You _know _what you want. So tell me," I stepped forward, invading his personal space again. His eyes dropped to my lips and I pretended not to notice. "Tell me," I demanded gently, with just a thread of the 'Alpha' voice in there – just to test.

He shivered slightly, meeting my eyes again. "You. I want you," he confessed, making it sound like it was the dirtiest, most wrong sin he'd ever committed. "I want you and only you, all to myself, all the time. I want to know you so well – and know that I know you so well – that you'll look to _me _for your own reactions, and I want…" He paused, taking in a deep breath, his hands coming up to either side of my face. "I want you to know me."

"Love. You want love," I said quietly, awed by it.

Castiel smiled, just a little. "Yes. I suppose I do."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Sexual Situations, Drama, Hunting Gorey Imagery.

**Also! **Omg someone did art for Instinct! It's amazing and makes me so freaking happy I could bounce! In fact, I think I will! *bounces* Thank you to this incredible artist and please go and check it out! .com/?qh=§ion;=&q=instinct+fanart#/d2zttp7

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Castiel bit his lip, looking back down, his eyes wandering around like he would rather look anywhere else but at me, after his confession. I knew the feeling – of being so vulnerable, you just want to run, or fight, or _something. _I had mercy on him;

"Come run with me, and let's find something to eat," I suggested gently, and I almost staggered under the weight of the gratitude in his eyes. I smiled at him, shifting into a wolf again, and in a blink he was that beautiful cat again. I nudged my shoulder against him briefly, surprised when he immediately leaned his head against my shoulder, low purr rumbling from his chest, eyes falling closed. I would have smiled if wolves had the muscles for it, but I did dip my head to rest my jaw against his forehead, surprised and a little pleased about this affectionate Alpha cat I'd managed to dig out.

He pulled away too soon, his tail flicking behind him absently as he pricked his ears up, nostrils flaring as he tried to take in any scents we might be able to hunt. I couldn't imagine how – everything smelled the same to me, in the marshes; like damp and mud and grass.

"_How can you hunt anything when it all smells the same?" _I asked absently, a little unnerved by the creepy silence of the marshes, only broken by the occasional rustling. I followed a sound close by to us, and Castiel raised his head as well, looking in the same direction. His nostrils flared.

Then, he took off running. _"Smell isn't as helpful as hearing things. Sound carries here very far, and once you hear something then it's like the smell becomes clearer, now that you have something to focus on." _I ran beside him, feeling clumsy and heavy next to his lithe form and silent stride. Our prey didn't seem to hear me, though – a large marsh rat that was snuffling around an old bird's nest that looked like it hadn't seen life in a long time. We crouched low to the ground, and the wet grass tickled at my belly, and got into my nose – I fought the urge to sneeze.

"_Yours or mine?"_ I asked Castiel, not taking my eyes off the rat, and I inhaled the scent – it was male. Okay. An adolescent, though. Just reaching mating age, maybe. I hesitated right as Castiel answered 'Yours'. _"Let's find a different one."_

"_What?" _Castiel blinked at me. "_Why?"_

"_If we leave this one, he can procreate in future and there'll be more food in later years. We should find older males, or non-mothers. Something that wouldn't damage their populations as much." _I could see Castiel's whiskers twitch out of the corner of my eye, ears going back; he didn't agree. _"What?"_

"_Your hunting methods are very strange, Alpha. We cannot be as selective as you are – a meal we let go now will just feed an enemy, or mean we starve today waiting for the food of tomorrow."_

I sighed, lowering my head to the ground, because I didn't want to fight him about this – these were his lands, and he probably knew some reason why you couldn't be too picky or anything but…still. _"Please, Castiel…Let's go find something else,"_ I pleaded, and watched as his ears went back, debating as he followed our meal's departure into the foggy distance of the marshes.

"_Very well," _he said, straightening, tail flickering in displeasure. _"But if you end up starving to death, don't expect me to drag your body back." _You, not me…I found myself smiling despite his coarse remark, following as once again we took off running. He found another swamp rat, and this one he didn't hesitate to make a meal of, almost like he was trying to prove a point to me now. He landed on it, ripping open its back with his claws as it shrieked in pain at a pitch that hurt my ears. Another growl, another yank of Castiel's ferocious, serrated teeth and the rat fell, dead, underneath him. He clambered off so that we both could eat.

While we ate, we talked; _"You don't shed the blood of your food when you kill," _he remarked, already neck deep in the creature's gut as he dug at the softer pieces of flesh around the spine and lungs. I shrugged, swallowing bites of its heart.

"_The blood keeps it rich in nourishment," _I replied, swallowing my next mouthful before continuing; _"Blood is a strong life source and it keeps the organs rich. A young wolf that is growing always gets the best organs until they reach maturity, or a sick wolf – same thing." _He seemed to accept this, moving onto one of the forelegs now, pinning down the bone and ripping at it with his giant teeth. I knew from experience what that bite felt like, and shivered in sympathy though I knew the animal was dead. _"It also makes sure the kill stays as fresh as possible while we take it back."_

Castiel barked (hah) out a harsh laugh, more a grunt than anything else. _"Yes, you share the food around, don't you?" _He almost sounded derisive.

I snorted, shook my head, and kept eating. The food felt good, settling like a warm stone in my belly and I felt myself get stronger, better even as I ate. Before I knew it, the carcass was just bone and random shreds of organ meat along them, yellowed and reddened from spilled blood and other fluids that I'd honestly not think about – eating raw meat was okay as long as you didn't realize or think too much about just _what _you were eating.

"_Alpha?" _

My ears perked up, looking over to Castiel, but the were-cat wasn't paying attention to me; he was licking one of those massive paws clean, eyes at half-mast and giant claws extended out of them so that he could lick around them. He hadn't spoken.

I lifted my head. The call had been faint – almost not even there. I could have just imagined it, but – _"Alpha?" _– yes, it was there! It sounded like…almost…My ears swiveled around, and I started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. When we're in phase, we can talk to each other almost normally – like Cas and I had been doing, and earlier on the hunt – but there are specific…mind waves, I guess?...that packs access, and we can hear each other but not when some of us are out of phase at the same time, if you understand what I'm saying. Between werewolves and were-cats, it's like speaking a second language. Someone was speaking to me in a 'language' that Castiel didn't understand or pay attention to.

That meant it had to be a wolf. One of _my _wolves who was calling me Alpha.

"_Alpha?" _The voice was more insistent now, and I couldn't quite place it – like it was just on the edge of my memory, jogging it but not quite getting the kick in the head I needed. _"Is that you? Guys, I think he's over here!"_

Oh God, no…

"_Cas," _I hissed at him, getting to my feet. He lifted his head, blinking lazily at me. _"We have to go."_

"_Why?" _he asked, immediately on high alert as he stood up, looking around him.

"_My pack's found me."_

Now that I had identified them as definitely mine, I was almost attuned to them all over again. I didn't realize how desensitized I'd been to other wolves until I hadn't been able to recognize them, but now I did. Gordon, Rufus, and Bobby. Possibly the worst combination of wolves to find me with Cas – Bobby would get it, maybe, but Gordon was just waiting for an excuse to throw me out of my position (he didn't think someone as young as I was should be Alpha) and Rufus…was a wild card. I never really knew where he stood around me.

Castiel 'hmm'ed gently, his ears flickering forward as his nostrils flared. _"Isn't that what you wanted?" _he asked, voice guarded; _"They've found you, and now you and your brother will get out of here at whatever cost to my group."_

"_But not…these three," _I said, shaking my head gently, feeling the urgency of the situation building, because Gordon and Rufus were fast runners, and Bobby was one hell of a tracker. _"They'll kill for no reason whatsoever, and they'll have back up because Bobby's smart about stuff like that. The colony will take unnecessary hits if…" _Oh God, what about Sam? He'd still be in there… _"Have to get to them, before they get to the colony, and stop whatever's happening."_

"_Finally, something we agree on," _Castiel said, stretching his forelegs in front of him, claws digging into the marshes before he straightened. _"Which way, Alpha? You can sense them better than I can."_

"_Wait, no – you're not going." _If they found me with Castiel they'd think I was in trouble or something. They'd kill him. And I ignored the little shaft of ice that drove straight through me at this beautiful cat ceasing to exist – forget that he was a strong ally, I just didn't want to think of Castiel as dead. Ever. _"I'll go on alone. You need to make sure your settlement's ready for them and whatever trap they'll spring."_

Castiel's ears flattened slightly, his nostrils flared again, and he went completely still for a moment before fixing one of his giant blue eyes on me. _"Already done. Lucifer's ready for them. Now, Alpha, let's go." _

Still unable to fight the feeling that this was going to end very badly, I relented and followed him, heading towards the signals coming from my pack members. _"Bobby? Rufus? Gordon?"_

"_Alpha?"_

"_Oh thank God!"_

"_We've been looking for you for ages, boy!" _That was Bobby – he had been the Beta when my father's generation was in charge of the pack, but when a new Alpha takes charge then their generation usurps the rest, and Sam suddenly got a higher ranking than Bobby. I was afraid, at the time, that this would cause animosity between me and the older men of the pack, but it'd been done for years – they were used to it. John had taken over from Samuel, and I took over from John, and eventually someone would take over from me. It's just how it works.

Their lumbering forms suddenly took shape among the fog and grasses of the marshes, the three giant wolves running towards me as I slowed to the stop. Rufus saw Castiel first – the giant red wolf slid to a halt, growling savagely at the were-cat, teeth bared and hackles raised.

"_Alpha, what is this _thing _doing with you?" _he growled, flashing his black eyes Castiel's way, smelling him out among the marsh scents. Even now, ten feet away from them, I couldn't smell them very well. The marshes would have hidden us forever if I hadn't pissed Castiel off and we'd gone hunting.

I snarled back at him, wanting to force his attitude away before things began to escalate. _"Stand down, wolves. The next one to act in hostility will be blinded by their own blood." _A fairly unused expression in wolf society, since we try not to just fight to solve our differences, but they got the picture well enough. I waited, watching the war going on in my pack's eyes before Rufus straightened, slowly, keeping his head down and tail low to the ground.

"_Forgive me, Alpha."_

"_Forgotten. Now." _I directed my gaze to Bobby. "_I know you have people around the were-cat settlement. Tell me."_

"_Got four moving in from the East, another seven in the North," _Bobby replied promptly, eyeing Castiel with a wary flick of his tail. Castiel's ears flattened, a low hiss rumbling from his chest before he could stop it. Rufus reflexively tensed, but a look from me and they both subsided – I was glad Castiel had decided to curb his fiery temper for now; he was outnumbered, and I wouldn't be able to protect him if he went all 'Alpha' in front of wolves that would _not _accept the reason that _he _was Alpha here. _"I've got them circling, but we didn't know if it was just you in there or just Sam, both or if you were dead. We didn't know." _I swallowed back the sting of guilt that his accusatory tone caused me.

"_Sam has broken his leg. He's healing, and…" _I looked down for a moment, having to come to a decision; call off the attack and let this be dealt with peacefully, or not? There were complications on either end, both personal and practical. Attacking the colony would not only damage any potential alliances in the future (and hard times were coming; I could feel it like the wind) but Sam would never forgive me. He's attached to the golden cat – Gabriel. If something happened to Gabriel then he'd never forgive me for it, even if they weren't mated.

And then…Castiel.

The Alpha that, I'll admit, I was attached to. I didn't know where I stood with him, but I wanted to know, and I wanted to…be close to him. He was old, and powerful, and I was drawn to that even despite his stick-up-his-ass tendencies and mood swings that changed faster than wind directions.

In the end, it wasn't much of a decision. I let out the breath I was holding, knowing that from now on things would change; _"Sam is being courted by a were-cat," _I said, not surprised by Gordon's and Rufus' low rumble of anger and surprise; _"The beta, in fact, and Castiel's brother. We've settled there, and they should not be our enemies – this colony is strong and could be a great ally. Bobby, I can't hear the wolves, but call off the attack. Right now."_

Gordon snorted, and I braced myself – here we go. _"You've gone soft, Alpha," _he growled, taking a step forward. I tensed and snarled back at him in warning. _"Letting these _creatures _into your mind…and your bed," _he added, almost as an afterthought. I knew he would be able to smell Castiel all over me, but that was possibly the one thing I wasn't ashamed of. Not in front of him. _"They're poisoning you, Alpha, and making you sympathetic. They'd just as soon kill you as look at you."_

"_I'm inclined to disagree," _I replied, voice clipped and _this _close to just ordering him to stand down. I didn't want to but I _really _hated Gordon and his insubordination. I'd have exiled him a long time ago if he wasn't such a damn good hunter. He took another step forward, and we were uncomfortably close now. I was able to smell him in perfect clarity, and I knew he would be able to smell me as well, or more importantly, smell Castiel.

Gordon chuckled like it was the funniest thing in the world, and his voice grated on my frayed nerves; _"You've fucked him, haven't you Alpha?" _he purred, words like liquid venom and I growled at him, one more warning, and it would be the last. _"Just rolled over for him like some _bitch _and -."_

He didn't get to finish his sentence. And it wasn't because of me, or even Castiel. Bobby was the one to attack him. It was surprising, unexpected, but I was incredibly grateful, because I didn't want to have a full-on fight with Gordon right here when we were running out of time. Gordon may be fast, but Bobby was pure bulk and he had his jaws clamped around Gordon's neck within a minute; I swear I've never seen him that angry – the massive black-grey wolf was quivering with rage.

"_You will hold your tongue around our Alpha, boy," _he growled, sinking his teeth into Gordon's neck and the air was tainted with the scent of blood. _"We can discuss these things later. For now, we must get to the colony and call off the attack."_

"_Yes," _I said, looking towards Castiel, who looked pensive, ears off to one side like he was listening to something that wasn't happening here. I wondered if he could hear as far away as the colony – just how good is their hearing anyway? It was then that I abruptly realized he wouldn't have heard anything my pack had just said..._ "Cas, we need to get back to the settlement. Quickly, before my wolves get there." _His whiskers twitched, before he nodded and turned, taking off towards the colony. Gordon growled, and I knew he was tempted to give chase, but Bobby's hold on his neck stopped him. I turned back to the three. _"Come on, guys."_

We ran, then. I've never run so fast in my life, I'm sure, and I was glad for the meal before all the drama started otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have just collapsed. We didn't hit any of the werewolves coming back, but I could smell them faintly on the wind. They were close.

"_Bobby, can you hear them?" _I asked, and he nodded, ears swiveling around to something I couldn't detect, which worried me, because I should be able to. Surely the immersion hadn't gone so far that I'd lost the ability to communicate with my pack over long distances? _"Halt the attack. If we can do this peacefully, then we will."_

"_Do ya wannus to split up and contact them? Then you can get Sam?" _

"_I…don't know." _And that sucked. I didn't know how to tell my brother that we were leaving. I couldn't rip him away from here by force, but the pack would never allow it if he stayed behind. There's trying to reach out and then there's, well, beastiality. Cross-breeding. Not that Sam and Gabriel could breed but…_ "I'll go talk to him."_

I left, then. I'd lost Castiel; he'd run ahead and I left the rest of the wolves behind to call off the others. I had to get to Sam.

He was in the healer's tent, as usual. His eyes were wide and he was panicking when I entered, obviously taken aback by my _own _panic. "Dude, what the hell is going on?" he asked when I ran over to him – I should probably mention that I'd changed back into a human by now – kneeling down and frantically checking his leg – if it had healed enough, he could probably run on it for a while without damage or pain. "Gabriel just left, got summoned outside, said a big battle was about to go down. Did the pack find us? Dude – _listen to me." _He grabbed my shoulders, because I hadn't been paying attention to what he was saying – too many questions, not enough time. "What the fuck is going on?"

"The pack found us," I replied, going back to feeling around his broken leg. He hissed and drew it back, away from my touch – still broken and painful. Damn it. "They're going to take us back. Bobby's got more than a dozen wolves surrounding the colony, and I don't want an all-out war, Sam. We might have to…leave."

He frowned, placing a hand on my arm. "Dean…" I already knew what he was going to say.

"You don't have to come, Sammy," I said, smiling though it broke my heart to talk about it. I didn't want to leave my brother behind, but… "I know you like Gabriel, and if there's even a chance you could be happy here, then I want you to take it. I can appoint a new Beta – you don't have to come at all."

"Don't be ridiculous, Alpha," Sam snapped, drawing his hand away. "Of course I'm coming, even though…" He swallowed, looking away, and I sighed – I hated to do this to him, especially so soon after giving my blessing for a relationship between him and Gabriel. "I mean, it was kinda nice staying here."

"I'm sure we can come back, Sammy," I said, trying to be encouraging and I'm pretty sure I failed. "This colony would be a powerful friend and ally to have, and if anything it would only help our cause. But you can't run," I said, returning to the matter at hand; "We can't get out of here unless I carry you out. It won't be easy."

"You don't think they'll just let us go? Surely they won't fight."

I looked up, where there was a muffled serious of growls and snarls outside. "Look, Sam, I have to go. I'll be back," I murmured quickly, patting his knee before standing up, and leaving, ignoring the way he called for me to come back.

There were seven wolves on the border of the settlement, mirrored with thirteen were-cats, Castiel and Gabriel among them. Luckily, they were all as humans and I saw Bobby and Gordon among them, waiting for my order to continue or stand down. There were muffled murmurs among the wolves as I stepped out from between the cats – I'm sure I was a sight. Bitten, bloodied; I knew they were going to come to the worst conclusions and I wasn't wrong.

"The Alpha's been bitten…"

"…He's been marked…"

"Claimed."

"Bitten."

It was weird, standing between these different cultures…and I felt like I didn't belong to either of them. It's stupid – I'd only been gone for a few days and really there hadn't been that many changes…but…

I held up my hands for silence, smiling a little when the wolves immediately subsided. "Listen, guys, I'm not gonna butter this up – these guys," I pointed to the cats behind me, "are not our enemies, and we are _not _attacking them." Gordon growled, along with a few of the much younger wolves who hadn't grown to understand our cause yet, but they would, and I glared at them until they stopped. "I'm serious – I don't want any blood spilled over this, alright?"

"They've bitten you, Alpha," one of the wolves said, and there were muttered growls of assent. I could feel the were-cats eyes burning into the mark on my neck and the second on my shoulder, marking me as Castiel's. "They've spilled your blood. They are subject to our laws."

"Maybe, but not now." God, it was hard enough convincing Sam about this. I turned back to find Castiel among the were-cats, saw him in the middle of the line, standing next to Gabriel, who was looking extremely uncomfortable and tense about the situation – he should; he has more to lose. I looked back at my wolves. "Bobby, Adam, and…Ellen, you come with me." Looking back as Castiel; "We will discuss terms of Sam's and my release."

"I see no reason for that," Castiel replied, cool and collected as ever, but I could hear the tenseness to his voice, see the way Gabriel glared at his brother as though daring him to continue. Castiel blinked at me, all calm smiles and gentility. "You've obviously come here to fight, and if no blood is to be spilled, I can only see to release you as the only option. Feel free to collect your brother and leave as soon as possible. I don't want you on my lands any longer than necessary."

Then, he turned and left. It was almost physical pain to see him go, and I wanted to call him back – to tell him to stop. I almost did, even, but we were released…We were free. I should be happy.

Gabriel didn't look happy. And I knew that when I told Sam, he wouldn't be happy either. I just hoped we could work something out. Maybe an alliance, or even a mating to bring our packs together – that would be an amazing step for the future of were-cats and wolves. If there was one.

I sighed, and looked back to the wolves. "Alright. Bobby and Adam, come with me – Sam's still injured, and he can't walk. The rest of you, head home. We'll catch up by nightfall."


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Sexual Situations, Drama, Hunting Gorey Imagery.

**Also! **Omg someone did art for Instinct! It's amazing and makes me so freaking happy I could bounce! In fact, I think I will! *bounces* Thank you to this incredible artist and please go and check it out!

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Bobby carried Sam, flanking my right side while Adam trotted along on my left. It was weird, walking with wolves again – which is stupid because I'd only been gone for like, two days, but I felt like an alien here. When I'd come into Sam's tent, Bobby and Adam following, my baby brother had just…deflated. Gabriel hadn't come to visit him – the were-cats didn't say goodbye. I was disappointed, and somewhat angry – hadn't we meant _anything _to them? If not to Castiel, then at least for Gabriel. He'd asked _permission. _That _meant _something.

"_Adam?" _The platinum-blonde wolf's ears cocked towards me, green eyes blinking; _"Can you go human for a while? I'll carry you – I want to talk to Bobby alone." _I didn't want anyone eavesdropping, because there were things I wanted to get off my chest and, as far back as I can remember, Bobby has always been that confidante kind of guy – someone I could tell anything to. He might be coarse on the outside but Bobby was the best councilor an Alpha could ask for.

Adam nodded, stopping as he changed back into a human, and I dipped my shoulder so he could climb, waiting until his weight settled comfortably on my back before we continued.

"_What's on your mind, boy?" _Bobby asked, blinking over at me, head turned.

I sighed, my head falling to the ground. I just felt like crap – maybe I was coming down with something. That was the only thing I could find to explain the heavy weight in my stomach and head, and the feeling that someone was standing on my chest and making it hard to breathe. _"Is it shameful, what I did?" _I asked, looking to the wolf I considered a second family. _"Letting Sam and myself get close – get comfortable – with the cats. Is that weak?"_

Bobby thought for a moment, biting on the inside of his mouth as he did so in a way I think had to hurt, but he did it anyway. "_I think that, given the circumstances, an alliance was the best way for you to handle the situation. And being in close quarters with anybody will encourage feelings that might not develop otherwise," _he replied, in a total non-answer. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"_Come on, old man; just tell me what you're thinking."_

"_Well…" _Bobby shrugged slightly, jostling Sam where he lay down, but he didn't wake Sam up from where he dozed on Bobby's back. There was a frown on his face that I didn't like, and I sighed again for the forced separation I had caused. _"I think you're both idjits, and that you hurt them by leaving."_

I cocked my ears forward at that. _"What?" _I repeated incredulously, because if they were hurt then they were damn good at not showing it.

Bobby snorted. _"You're so young," _he said indulgently, tail flicking behind him as he yawned, baring his giant canines for a moment. _"The Alpha and Beta of that clan were so ass over elbows for you and your brother I'm surprised they didn't pee on you right in front of us."_

"_Um. Okay, gross," _I replied, nose wrinkling at the thought of that. I really hope cats don't do that – 'cause that's fucking weird. _"And I think you're misinterpreting, Bobby. Cas and Gabriel let us go without a fight. At all."_

"_Because fighting would damage both your packs and you didn't want bloodshed. _You _didn't want it, Dean, so he wouldn't fight; you wanted to do it peacefully, and I have the feeling that's not how he normally does it. It means something. Not to mention that Beta – I swear he was going to attack you when you talked about taking Sam away."_

I flinched slightly – I remembered. Gabriel had been glaring murderously at me, and I remembered clearly the feeling of guilt that had plagued me. I hated it…I was a hypocrite, or seemed like it – to give my blessing and then, not even the next day, turn around the change everything. At least it was early – Sam and Gabriel hadn't bitten each other, hadn't even begun to start that courting process, so theoretically…

Except I knew that wasn't true. Just because our courting rituals existed, it was just that – ritual. Tradition. Wolves were fully capable of falling in love without them. And cats didn't even do _love. _Things were so complicated – I didn't know what to do.

I told Bobby as much, and the old wolf sighed and shook his head. "_Life has no easy answers, Dean, but I can tell you that unstable and unhappy Alphas and Betas make unstable packs – perhaps an alliance is what both of us need."_

He didn't say anything more after that, and I was to myself until we caught up with the rest of the wolves. We were a few miles still from our settlement, but inside the forests now, and I felt…confined. Claustrophobic. After the wide, blank openness of the marshes, the trees felt oppressive in comparison. The thought didn't sit well with me as we kept walking, deeper into the darkening forest as the sun began to set and the already shady area became darker still. I sighed, huffing a breath, and Adam – who had changed back into a wolf, now – nudged my shoulder gently.

"_Penny for your thoughts, Alpha?"_

I smiled at him, looking ahead of me after I did so. _"Who's been in charge since Sam and I were captured?" _I asked, deliberately _not _thinking about…what I had been thinking about.

Adam snorted derisively, ears against his head. _"I did. Since I'm technically in the Alpha line, I kind of made sure everything was running smoothly, and sent out hunting parties to find you, and kept a relay between wolves at all times so we could come at a moment's notice if we found you. So, when Bobby, Rufus and Gordon did, we weren't far behind."_

"_I'm glad you took over, Adam," _I said, honestly, because it's good for him to get some experience like this in case he ever wants to branch off on his own. He's technically of the Alpha line, as he said, and therefore perfectly capable of forming his own pack. _"Has there been much trouble?"_

"_Yes." _Adam's ears went against his head again, a low rumble of unease echoing in his chest. _"Some of the younger wolves have been getting sick, Alpha, and nothing we can do seems to be working. We had to bury one of them yesterday."_

I cocked my ears forward; _"Who?"_

"_Lisa's son, Ben."_

I gasped at that – I had seen Ben before going to the meeting with the were-cat colony in the South. He'd been fine…a little pale and spiking a bit of a fever, but he'd been _fine. _And now, not even a week later, he was dead? _Nothing _worked that quickly.

I knew Lisa and Ben – intimately, in fact. There was suspicion that Ben was my son, but he hadn't been old enough to test for the Alpha line, and now…he never would be. God…_dead…_

"_How many more are sick?"_ I asked urgently, unnerved that a plague had struck my pack while I was gone. Something that was fatal.

"_One dozen so far," _Adam replied, his voice low with worry. _"No medicine of ours works. First, they get pale, and sweaty, then they start coughing up blood and their skin goes sallow. Within a few days they die. Max, Ash, Andy…Lilly, they're all sick. I don't think Max has long to wait either."_

"_Dear God," _I growled, just beginning to panic a little. This could decimate the pack, if it's spreading so quickly. _"Have they been quarantined?"_

"_Of course," _Adam replied, as though I was an idiot for suspecting otherwise. I had to smile a little at his defensiveness – such a teenager, always suspecting I was attacking him when I wasn't. He'd outgrow that. _"We're here, Alpha," _he noted, and I asked him to direct me to the infected tents. He cocked his ear at me, wondering why I would go there, before he jerked his head to the only permanent cabin we'd built. It was old, made of stone and oak and sealed with wax to stop leaking. I could hear the weezy rasp-cough of people sleeping inside.

The camp was practically deserted, as we are very pointedly diurnal creatures, and I was glad for it – no people to explain to, no stories to tell and no one to get angrier over the marks still on my body. I changed back into a human, heading straight to the cabin despite the protests I heard behind me. I couldn't just _not _go in – I had to see for myself.

The cabin was open-plan, with a hole in one corner of the roof for a cooking fire. Usually it was empty, used for meetings or activities for the children when the weather was bad, but now it was filled with beds. Three rows of four, thick pads of furs built up around bodies that occasionally twitched with life, but were otherwise still. The smell of blood and urine was strong here, and quickly I hurried around and through the beds, wanting to identify every one – Lilly, Max, Ash, Andy, Jake and his little sister…God, practically all the children. Every one Sam's age and younger (aside from Sam because he hadn't been here, and Adam because as Alpha he wouldn't be around the children much) were here. Even as I watched Max began to cough, blood spilling between the fingers he'd put up to cover his mouth. There was blood running around his eyes and white, oozing sores on his face. He blinked milky-white eyes up at me and I took a step away, disgusted and angry and so pitying of what I was seeing. Poor soul…

"Dear God," I said again, because it seemed like something that needed to be said, and my voice sharpened Max's focus. He sat up, looking around him until he saw me, coughing once more until he spat up blood and vomit. The smell was nauseating.

"Alpha," he croaked, voice low and I knew what Adam was talking about – he didn't have long left at all. "Alpha, you're home." He began to cough again, the sound so loud and hacking that it began to wake the others. I knelt forward, trying not to touch him because I didn't know how this bug was contagious – airborne or through contact – but I didn't care. My pack was dying in front of my eyes.

"Shh," I soothed gently, rubbing his back as he kept coughing until he calmed, shuddering and sweating with the fever. There was a knock on the door of the cabin and I stood up, speaking through it because I wouldn't risk breaking the quarantine now that I was in here.

"Alpha, you have to come out of there before you're infected." That was Adam.

"How is the disease spread?" I demanded, ignoring his order as Lilly began to cough as well. God, that sound tore at me. I rested my forehead against the door, praying for strength.

There was a pause, then; "Through contact. You haven't touched them, Alpha, have you?"

I almost smiled. "'Fraid so, Adam. I can't leave them."

"Dean!" Sam. His fist rapped on the door hard, hurting my head where it rested against the door. "Stop being an idiot. If you die we're without an Alpha – it's a tragedy, yes, but we can't cure them. Adam said so himself – there's no cure, so come out before you get sick."

"No Sammy," I whispered, not even sure if he would have heard me.

He did. "Dean! Stop being such an idiot!" Then, a hiss of breath, and I knew he'd tried putting weight on his broken leg to kick at the door. I smirked a little, imagining the bitch face he must be pulling now. "You can't die too."

"If I go, Sammy, I think you and Adam will be fine for a while until things are sorted out," I replied, louder this time, and more final about it – my tone clipped and sharp. "If we lose this generation, there won't be a pack to save. Go from here now, Sammy. I'm probably already infected anyway, and I won't have these kids here die alone. Go."

"Alpha, if you think I'm just going…"

"You have healing to do also, Sammy," I growled at him, in no mood for this argument – everyone was awake now, and I could hear Lilly sobbing in fear and pain as she continued to cough, each episode getting worse as she kept crying. "Get better, and then you can help me if you want to die too."

I moved away from the door, after locking it from the inside, so I don't know what he said, if he said anything at all, and went back towards the beds. Lilly looked up at me, tears streaking from her beautiful blue-white eyes. "Alpha…what?"

I followed her gaze, seeing the bites, and shrugged. "The Alpha cat was friendly," I said with a slight smirk, sitting down cross legged amongst them. Jake frowned at me.

"I don't understand, are you infected too?"

"No…" I said, looking down and playing with the edge of a blood-soaked fur. "But you've already been without me for too long. I had to see…" I looked up at them all, knowing they could be dead in a matter of days. "God, guys, I'm so sorry this is happening…"

"It's not your fault, Alpha," Andy said, cradling a small yearling to his chest. The baby had already died. I swallowed at the sight. "No one can fight what they can't see."

"Don't talk like that," I growled at him, and then looked to the rest of them. "Don't you dare give up. We're going to get help for you, and we're going to get medicine and you're all going to be fine, you hear me?"

Lilly smiled, the expression bittersweet, and though none of them spoke I knew what they were thinking. "_All _of you," I repeated, for emphasis, and they nodded a little. "Now go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You could get sick, Alpha."

I nodded. "I know."

Max was the last to go to sleep – his coughing fits were so many and close together that it was a miracle he got any sleep at all. I kept soothing him, bringing water that someone had left on the doorstop and making him drink it, and it helped a little, but not enough. Eventually, though, in the wee hours of the morning, he managed to just collapse, even coughing in his sleep. While they slept on, snoring gently and looking much more peaceful than I knew they were, I gently took the dead infant from Andy's arms, looking down to see who it was. Jesse. God…I swallowed again, unable to believe such a young wolf could have died, and went to the corner of the house where cooking fires were built. I had to burn the dead, and burn the furs – this place had to be cleaned and cleansed and purged.

The smell of burning flesh was potent in the cabin, and I threw some spices onto the fire too, hoping to disguise the smell. It didn't quite do the job, but it did help, and I couldn't watch as that baby burned – I'd rather have died myself. Again, to distract myself, I took the bedding that had been abandoned, or died in, and gathered it as far away from the sleeping wolves as I could, readying that to burn as well. All of this would burn when this epidemic was over.

Dawn was bright and cheery, and I almost glared at the sun for having the nerve, but it, of course, ignored me, and went on its merry way in the sky, tingeing the clouds pink and purple. I stoked the fire, piling it high until it dominated almost half of the cabin, stopping just short of blocking the door, and smoke billowed up high and black out of the hole. I didn't know what people would think, seeing it, and I didn't particularly care. Until a cure was found, then we would have to make do with this.

I woke them all for food – someone had gone out at night and brought back the remains of a kill, which I dragged inside as quickly as possible before the rest of the wolves woke up, cut into equal shares and gave to the sick wolves one by one as they woke up.

Max didn't wake up. He wasn't breathing when I came to him.

We'd lost him.

They watched me drag his body to the fire and toss it on. They had stronger stomachs than I did, watching him burn, until I covered his body with his blood-soaked fur, and he was hidden from view. They ate, and I ate with them, always making sure the fire continued to burn until there was no more fuel. It took almost the entire day for the smoke to stop, and even then the stench stayed behind long after. It was hard to keep everything down – they were being so brave, so very brave, and I was proud of them, proud to have such a strong and valiant pack that, even for being so young and in the face of death, had no fear.

There was another knock on the door come nightfall, and I stood up, speaking through the crack where it didn't quite sit right and open air could blow through; "What is it?" I asked.

"Dean, open the door, please." Sam. I sighed slightly.

"Look, Sammy, unless you're telling me you have a cure waiting out there I'm going to go tell you to get back on your ass and run the pack." I sighed again, feeling a little worse for wear. I raised a hand to my forehead, wiping sweat away – must be from the fire, with no air flow going. Or I was getting sick. Either way. "I'm serious, Sam – don't make me order you to do it. I will."

"Dean…"

I shook my head. "No, Sammy. Go away, I'm serious. No one comes in or out until we can fix this." I slammed my fist against the door, signaling the conversation was over, and exhaled heavily. The action caused a weird spasm in my chest, and I began to cough. Loud, harsh and racking – I felt phlegm at the back of my throat and grimaced, swallowing it back down because I knew it would come up bloody. Fuck, I was infected.

Well really, there's only so much time you can spend playing with fire until you're burned.

I smiled weakly at the children as I went back to them, sighing as I leaned against the doorframe, eyes closing. "You're sick," Lilly whispered, and I opened my eyes again, smiling slightly as I shrugged.

"Nah, it's just a head cold," I said, trying for humor and failing epically, but it made them smile. Just a little, and that was enough. "Relax, guys, we're not going to die. Sam's too stubborn – we're all going to be fine," I said, smiling, because I swear if there was a way for Sam to heal us with his mind, he would find a way to do it. I ignored the way my heart got heavy at the thought that, between then and now, we could lose someone else. "How far between Max getting sick and the rest of you?"

Lilly raised her hand. "I was the next. He came in half a day before I started coughing up blood."

Okay…so half a day wasn't much of a margin, but I could read the naked terror in her eyes and I smiled, placing my hand on her shoulder. "You will be okay, Lilly, I'm sure of it." She smiled a little, so desperately wanting to believe me, and I squeezed her shoulder gently. "Now…" I sat back. "Anyone know how to play 'Texas Hold 'Em'?"

Sam came back the next day – and really, this guy was pissing me off. I coughed into my hand, knowing by the wet feeling that there was blood there, and managed to shove myself to my feet. I'd had to burn another fur – Jake's little sister had perished overnight. There's just something…_wrong _about outliving children. If I never had to again it would be too soon. I traipsed over to the door, and even moving that much took all of my energy, and I ended up having to choke out my words between coughing fits.

"Sammy, unless you have a healer, food, or a slammin' hottie out there, I'm not interested." There was a low chuckle outside, that I definitely recognized.

"Well I've got two of those," came the snarky reply from a were-cat I never thought I'd hear from again. Gabriel. The healer. Someone had called him here. I flung the door open, ignoring the inhabitant's cry of alarm, looking down into a pair of glowing golden eyes. "Hey there, Dean-o. Can I come in?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Illness Imagery, UST?

**Also! **Omg someone did art for Instinct! It's amazing and makes me so freaking happy I could bounce! In fact, I think I will! *bounces* Thank you to this incredible artist and please go and check it out!

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

"What are you doing here?" I asked; I would have totally believed you if you told me the sickness causes hallucinations, as I couldn't quite believe Gabriel was just _standing _there, smirking up at me. "How did you get here?"

"Well, you know," he replied casually, stepping around me so he could enter the cabin since I couldn't get my frozen ass in gear to move for him; "through the repetitive process of putting one foot in front of the other, one is capable of traveling great distances. Even faster if they have four feet." He winked at me, before putting his hands on his hips. "Now, where are all the sick people?"

I pointed to those remaining that were alive, where they had all huddled at one end of the cabin and were blinking owlishly from between the furs and their own bodies. Gabriel clucked his tongue, chewing on the inside of one cheek. "Okay…Who's been here longest?" he asked, looking everyone up and down with an appraising gaze that I thought was more at home on some other cat I knew. I pushed the thought away – now was so not the time.

Lilly raised her hand. It was shaking, blood covered, and there was the beginning of a sore on the inside of her wrist. It hadn't been there an hour ago, and I ran forward, kneeling in front of her.

"Lilly, when did this happen?" I asked, holding her wrist gently as I examined it. It was red and sore-looking, green and yellow around the edges and oozing some kind of white-yellow pus. She shrugged, tears in her eyes, and I nodded, turning and looking at Gabriel. "Please say that you can help them."

"I've seen this before," Gabriel muttered to himself, watching Lilly from a distance. "It's transmitted through touch – any kind of touch – and kills in days." His eyes flashed to mine. "I'll try and help, but there's only so much I can do – the disease is very far along already."

"Try – please try," I begged him, and he nodded again, face serious, arms folded over his chest.

"I'll need supplies. Herbs that I don't think grow here. I'll need your fastest runners, and I'll send one of my cats along with them to make sure they find what I'm looking for."

"Your cats?" I repeated, because unless something really _big _had happened back at the colony, all the cats belonged to Castiel – in a loose sense of the word, of course. Gabriel nodded.

"Well, the Healers. Castiel sent all of them with me."

_All _of them? "So he's not here," I replied, ignoring the little clench my chest did at that – probably just the sickness. Even as I thought that, another round of coughing rendered me mute. That had been a big one – it made me almost collapse with its persistence and strength. I ended up having to lean against Jake and Andy for support while I coughed, wiping the blood away from my face when I was done.

Gabriel waited until it was over. "No," he said, voice a whisper, eyes watching me in a calculating way. "You're sick too."

"I couldn't let them suffer alone," I snapped back, defiant about it because I was getting kind of sick and tired of people pointing out the obvious – _hello, blood _was coming out of my _mouth. _Of course I'm sick. "Besides, someone needed to monitor the progression of the disease."

Gabriel sighed, rolled his eyes, nodded and sighed again. "I'll get to it, then. I think my brother would kill me if I let you die," he muttered, mostly to himself but I still heard it, and pretended not to. Lilly had regained my attention.

"You're sick because of us, Alpha," she whispered, tears in her eyes as the door swung shut behind Gabriel, trapping us in again. "You could die."

"Nonsense," I replied softly, a hand on her shoulder. She was so young – well, honestly, not that much younger than I was, but still, so afraid and falsely brave. I couldn't let her die, on top of Ben and Max and Jake's little sister, and Jesse. Four too many had died already. "You just worry about getting better, and let me handle the rest. When did this start?" I asked, looking over at Jake and Ash. "Does anyone even know?"

"We think it was the food," Jake replied, stretching his long legs out in front of him, back against a boarded up window. "The last few days we were short on it, and we went out hunting despite the fact that everyone knows this time of year the death rate for disease is high. The deer we struck down was sickly – too weak to stay ahead with the herd, and we knew it, but we needed to feed people, so we did, and the children suffered for it."

I nodded, pulling Lilly close to my side as she began to cough again, rubbing along her back to try and soothe her. "I understand. I'm sorry I took most of the hunters with me – we could have gotten you safer food."

Jake shrugged. "It was an unintentional mistake that we can learn from," he said.

_Except for those that only learn the mistake once._

I sighed, running a hand over my face – I was exhausted, living on maybe two hours of sleep since this whole thing started, and I needed a drink of water desperately. I went over to the water jug, filling a glass and drank it down. "Gabriel's seen something like this before," I said once I'd finished, my eyes on the door and I could feel them watching me, drinking in my every word. "He's a fantastic healer – healed Sam's cut arm in less than twenty-four hours, and I'm willing to bet that if we'd stayed, he'd have had Sam running around by the end of the week. He's a great healer, and he's seen it before. He'll know how to cure it."

They, blessedly, didn't say what we were all thinking; just because Gabriel had seen it, doesn't mean he cured it.

It wasn't the golden cat who visited our cabin next, but Castiel himself.

I have to say, I was kind of surprised.

We woke up to hammering on the door, loud and persistent and relentless. It was still dark inside the cabin – which let me tell you is a really fucking uncool thing to wake up in, full of things to trip you up and so on – but the glowing embers of the dying fire provided a little bit of light. Enough that I could find the door, anyway.

"Who is it?" I growled, wiping away the remaining sleep from my eyes and hoping they hadn't woken the children – if it was one of my wolves there would be blood. And side note – was _that _my voice? God, it sounded like I'd been gargling rocks.

There was a low growl on the other end, one that I definitely recognized from the little Pavlovian response my body gave – hitch of breath, a little tensing, and a lot of heat. I rested my forehead against the doorframe, sure that I was just imagining it now, until his tense, low voice followed; "Dean, let me in."

_Cas._

"No," I growled back, because I _was _Alpha here now, damn it, and I was in charge, and I was still kinda pissed that he'd let me and Sam go so easily, and…yeah, basically it all added up to 'No'. "I'm not getting you sick too, Alpha, so I'm not opening the door until Gabriel's ready with a cure."

"You are a stupid wolf." The outside step creaked as Castiel shifted his weight, settling down for the night, and I sighed and did the same, realizing he wasn't going to go away so I could kiss any more sleep I wanted good-bye. "Reckless, idiotic; why would you run into a quarantine zone? Answer me that, Alpha."

"Because I care about my pack members," I snapped in response, folding my arms over my chest in what was decidedly a petulant way, but he couldn't see me, so it didn't matter – he couldn't mock me for it. "I couldn't let them suffer in here alone, and if I had been here, maybe…"

"You can't fight a microbe, Dean. The disease would have happened if you were there or not. It could have killed you – may still kill you – and I would have never even known, or cared."

I almost smiled. "Why, Cas, you are such a semantic at heart. I had no idea."

"…I'm sure I don't know what you mean." The voice that came to me from the other side of the door wasn't strong anymore. It was hesitant, and shy, and almost guilty for giving the game away.

"Really? 'Cause what I think I mean is that you just ran, here, overnight, into enemy territory – alone, I might add, unless I'm mistaken – because there were a bunch of wolves searching for herbs on your lands and telling you that I was sick."

It was a bold assumption to make, and Castiel told me as much, but I remained silent, because I was sure of it. Castiel had _bitten _me, damn it, and he knew our laws. Hadn't he told me this from the very beginning? 'Don't think I don't know the rules'. He _did _know the rules, very well in fact, and now we were simply done playing.

"Am I wrong?" I challenged, daring with it because he couldn't hurt me through this door. Wouldn't.

Castiel hesitated, and then sighed. I could practically feel his eyes rolling. "No, you are not wrong, but you are also naïve and insolent and stupid."

"Wow, way to butter me up, Cas," I snapped in reply, but the sting was interrupted by another coughing fit that almost had me heaving from the force of it. God, this _sucked. _I couldn't imagine dying from it – and I hoped I wouldn't have to find out. "And before you say it, no; I'm not letting you in."

The Alpha cat sighed, and I heard a dull thud that was his head hitting the wooden door. I could imagine him, sitting there like some weird sentinel, watching my pack as they went about their day. Light was just starting to creep in around the edges of the door, and I figured the sun must be rising. "Describe the sky to me, Cas," I asked him softly, for I had missed two sunrises in here and I didn't want to miss another. He didn't protest – which, again, surprised me.

"It's just a tease of it, through the trees," he murmured, so gently I could barely hear, and I had to press my ear against the door. "Just a little pink up top, there's sunlight peeking through the trunks. I've never seen brown in this amount, Dean. It's such a warm color, and there's gold and blue and black in the sky. Your sunrises are beautiful."

I sighed, closing my eyes and imagining it, as I had done on so many occasions when I would get up before the rest of my pack and watch the sunrise through the trees. I braced my shoulder against the doorframe, listening as Castiel's smooth, hypnotic voice kept talking to me;

"The sun's moving slowly. It's in no hurry – the sky's getting redder. Just a little bit. I can hear the birds out here. We don't have birds on the marshes. None that sing like this, anyway." Another sigh, his this time, and it's wistful and sad. I wanted to be able to open the door and touch him, but I wouldn't risk him getting infected. "Can you hear the birds, Dean?"

"No," I replied, and choked on the word, letting hope and despair wash through me in equal measure while I still could, before the rest of them woke up and I had to keep their spirits high. "No, I can't hear them."

"You will," Castiel replied, confidently. Quietly, but determined, and I didn't have the heart to disagree with him. "You'll hear birdsong, and then you'll get your strength back, and teach me. Teach me how to hunt like you do, and how to be at home in this forest. I think it's time our settlement moved again."

My heart clenched at that. "You're leaving?" I tried to keep my voice steady, and failed, but I could only hope the wood muffled that. I didn't want to think about Castiel leaving – not when I'd just gotten him back after thinking I'd never see him again.

Castiel chuckled lightly. "Nowhere far. A bad season's coming. Food is getting scarce. I was hoping, with your permission, Alpha, that we might be able to settle on your borders for a while, where the trees are. I think a change of scenery would be good for them."

"You're talking of…" Melding the packs. Good God. He would have thought about this, too; Castiel is methodical, purposeful. He's quick to anger and rash moves but not rash decisions. Mobilizing his entire settlement to come here would have taken a lot of arguing, and persuasion, and… "It would be a great honor to house you on my lands, for as long as you needed," I answered, because the were-cats were strong, and we had enemies, but no one would come here if they knew that we were so heavily guarded. Not to mention Sam and Gabriel – if they mated, then the packs would actually be united. "You're speaking of revolution."

Castiel laughed again. "I may be old, Dean, but I am not immune to change. I can smell it on the winds – it's coming, and I'd like to be prepared when the clouds break." It must be a were-cat expression, for I'd never heard it before, but I could guess what it meant – it was our version of weathering the storm. "So…we can come here?"

"Of course. You're always welcome," I replied, knowing that it might take some persuasion on my part to get my pack on board, but I'd get them there eventually – after all, I was the Alpha. If…If I made it out of here alive. Not that I was doubting Gabriel's abilities, but still – it's hard to look to the future sometimes when you see people here one moment, gone the next. I raised my hand at my eye-level, imagining I could see him on the other side of the door, that it might suddenly become invisible so I could reach out and touch him without risk. I placed my palm flat on the door; fingers splayed, and sighed, eyes closing. "I'm glad you're here, Castiel."

There was a low purr on the other side of the door, and the old wood gave slightly as Castiel leaned his weight against it. "I would rather be nowhere else. You are now my pack's future, and my own, and I can't see you die."

I almost grinned. "You're full of riddles and schemes, aren't you, Alpha?"

"And motives, Alpha wolf. Don't forget motives."

I chuckled, the sound rattling around dry and broken in my chest, and then heard more steps approaching, and moved away before there could be a rap on the door that would jar my head. "Open up," came Gabriel's voice. "I've got the things I need. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish and get onto more important things."

Though I wanted to know what 'important things' meant – I was guessing it involved Sam and a secluded area somewhere – I didn't ask, and got up and opened the door for him. Castiel's eyes flashed on the other side as his brother stepped over his legs to get inside, and he nodded once at me with a wan little smile that I returned before shutting and locking the door again. Gabriel carried a big bowl in his hands, much like the one that held the salve that had treated Sam's arm, only this time it was filled with a yellow semi-liquid substance that looked vile and smelled even worse. "Wake everyone up," Gabriel ordered me, sitting down in the center of the room. "They have to drink a pint of this each, and then we need to break open the sores if any more people have them. It will get the poison out. If you don't mind, I'll have you do that – I don't want any unnecessary contact." And I nodded, because that made sense – Gabriel had to interact with the others too, and the point of quarantine would have been wasted if he got infected. I woke Lilly first, sending her his way, and though she complained about the taste of the mixture she drank it down dutifully. Jake followed, then Ash and Andy and finally myself. It tasted…foul. Literally. Like rotting, raw chicken and smelled of sulfur mixed with weeds.

Next, the sores. If I never had to do that again it would be too soon – Gabriel slid a knife over to me, and said I had to cut it clean off, like it was a leech to be pulled away. It was gruesome work – the sore had grown and looked like a legion on her skin, and I placed the knife flush to her wrist and sawed. That's all I could think to do. Blood, pus and a white transparent substance oozed around the blade as Lilly whimpered, grabbing a tight hold of Jake's forearm. I 'shh'ed her quietly, but there was nothing I could really do. When I finally sliced it right off, her wrist was open and raw and Gabriel threw me a cloth to bind it with, soaked in more of the gross yellow stuff, and I bound her up tightly, praising her quietly on how brave she was being, and how she'd be alright, and it was okay now. She smiled shakily at me, burying her face in Jake's neck, and stifled her sobs against his skin.

"Is there anyone else I need to take care of?" I asked, softly, because after that no one was going to come forward for the same treatment. Then again, they wanted to get better, right?

Ash raised his hand, looking very angry and morose about it, and then lifted the back of his long hair up, revealing the beginnings of one. At least it was small. I cut that one off in much the same way, hating that I didn't have any – "Is there anything we can give them? For the pain?" I asked Gabriel, who shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm afraid I still haven't found what I need for that." He set the bowl aside, wiping his hands on the robe around his body. "Now, the way this will work – it'll get worse before it gets better. In about four hours you're going to throw that yellow concoction up and I'll have to feed it to you again. It's doing its job – getting the poison out, and that means it's working. If you don't throw it up – that's when we'll have problems. So I'll be back in four hours with more, and you'll have to keep dosing yourselves up because your bodies will keep rejecting it." He rose to his feet, checking himself carefully to make sure there had been no substance transfer while he was in here, and then headed for the door. "Dean, can you open this?" he asked me.

I went over, nodding and unlocking the door for him to step through, and when it was open he turned to me, serious and solemn. "That girl…I'd be very surprised if she made it through after the second dose. Just thought I'd warn you," he said, so softly only I could hear. "You're doing a good job – burn everything that's dirty, and try and keep each other's spirits up and, if possible, limit contact from person to person. We don't want someone who's getting better to just be re-infected." And then he left, carrying the bowl away to be cleaned.

Castiel was still there, watching the exchange. "How many have died?" he asked softly, his eyes bright and deep with sorrow, and I sighed, kneeling about a foot away from the door where it opened inwardly.

"As far as I know – that people have told me or I've seen – four. All of them younger than twenty-two. God…" I rubbed a hand over my face, unable to look at him but having nowhere else to set my eyes on either. "They're so young, and to die so awfully…" I felt tears starting to build, and blinked them away, because I couldn't show weakness now, not now that there was hope for us. "Who's running your pack?" I asked, uncaring that my subject change was so obvious. Castiel smiled a little but granted me the mercy of not calling me out on it.

"Uriel. He's a little hard to deal with and has a pedestal high enough to rival God's, but he's a good leader and will do well in my absence." I nodded a little, looking down at the floor. "Lucifer is here with me, along with Anna and Rafael."

"Great – bring the she-cat who hates my kind," I said dryly, and Castiel chuckled a little.

"If the move is to go ahead, then she will need a severe attitude adjustment, or she will face exile. I will not have animosity between my kin and yours. Not anymore." He voice softened towards the end, barely audible, and my throat constricted painfully.

I reached forward, my nails curling into the soft wood around the door jam that separated us. "I missed you, you son of a bitch," I whispered, finally looking him in the eye. His expression softened, looking at me, and he mirrored my action, his fingers covering the wood just a few inches from mine. "Why did you send me away? Send _Sam _away? Didn't you care, at all?" I had to know. Now that he was here, I had to know.

His eyes flashed briefly, upper lip curling back just a little. "You didn't seem all that interested in staying, and you brought an army to face me. You didn't want blood, but you didn't want to stay, so I let you go."

"I wanted to stay, but I had a duty. You would have done the same thing."

Castiel's eyes met mine, holding them steadily, his voice tight; "I think that if I had been in your position, things would have come out very differently, Alpha." He sat back, leaning against the hand rail for the step that led outside, breaking his gaze and releasing me from the power of his eyes. "I didn't want to let you go. You're _mine, _Alpha. But, I managed, because I, too, had a duty, and besides…" His eyes trailed over the bite on my neck, still red and standing out even more against my skin, pale with sickness. "You are marked. No one else would touch you until that faded. I had time to sort things out."

"'To sort things out'," I repeated in a deadpan, not sure whether I should be insulted by his cockiness, or glad that he'd actually thought enough about it _to _mark me, to claim me – he wanted me, as more than a fuck buddy. It felt…oddly good. This cat always makes my emotions crazy-mixed-up. "And you've sorted things out…What now?"

"Now…you get better," Castiel said with a light smile that belied the darkness in his eyes; "And then I shall gather my pack, and we will settle here, and then…I plan to fuck you into next week." A hot shiver went through me, and I flushed at his boldness – an Alpha's mate is always so submissive, that it's surprising I was even turned on by his forwardness or his blatant power over me. Then again, Winchesters are far from orthodox.

"I look forward to it," I replied, voice low, and he smirked at me, and I smiled right on back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Illness Imagery, UST?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

True to Gabriel's prediction, within four and a half hours the cabin was full of vomit. It was awful – almost as bad as the coughing, which had abated somewhat after taking Gabriel's medicine, and now it was back full force. It made you want to die just so that it would stop.

I had all the children try and make it to a corner fur, so that it was all in one spot and I could burn it later (if the stench didn't kill us first) but sometimes they didn't make it. Lilly was shaking and sweaty with fever, and even though Gabriel had told me not to let them touch each other, I couldn't stop myself holding her close as she cried and sobbed into my shoulder. I rubbed her back, hating how I would feel if she was my own child – how the parents must be feeling outside the cabin. How much did they know? Did Jake's parents know they'd lost their daughter? Max's? Jesse's? How was Lisa coping?

The worry was killing me. My pack was suffering – I felt it like a leaden stone in my gut. I had to make this better but I didn't know how.

I asked Castiel to call Sam and Adam. I needed to know what was going on outside. We kept the door firmly shut as Gabriel administered the second dose of his medicine to the rest of the children and I nursed my own, getting the updates;

"The pack is uneasy. They don't like that you're in there, Alpha, and they don't trust Gabriel, Castiel or the cats. Those that do recognize them only do so for what they did to you, and to me, and they don't like them."

I growled, because animosity was something I _wouldn't _allow between us – they were going to be our neighbors. If all went smoothly, then they would be a part of us. "You tell every wolf that anyone who acts towards the cats in hostility will be subject to exile." It was a harsh punishment, I knew, but really the only ones I had to fear disobeying were ones I wouldn't mind seeing go anyway. We could deal without them – losing one good wolf at the price of several great cats seemed like a no-brainer. It wouldn't be easy, but it wouldn't be impossible either. "How are the parents doing?"

"Worrying their asses off, of course," Adam replied, and he sounded so petulant I almost smiled, finishing the last of the concoction Gabriel made. It slid down the back of my throat like sour honey. "The fire worries them – it smells of death and burning flesh, and they know they've lost someone."

"We've lost three in here, Adam," I replied in a whisper, leaning my forehead against the door. God, I hated this – you can't fight against microbes! Can't defend against them, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that if I had been here, I could have prevented it. It's a stupid thing to think but Castiel never ceases to point out that I'm an idiot anyway so I feel I'm justified here. "Three. _Children. _I don't…I can't…" I stopped, swallowing back my fear and despair, because we'd already lost four in total and Lilly might not be long in following. I couldn't show weakness now.

"You're gonna be okay, Dean," Sam replied just as softly, so I could barely hear him – I fought the urge to say that it wasn't myself I was worried about. "Listen, when you're feeling better we'll talk to the pack and the cats as one collective, and sort everything out. You just concentrate on getting better."

"No, Sammy," I growled, slamming my fist against the wood of the door. It creaked alarmingly under the blow. "The pack can't be put on hold just I'm not there. Adam, you managed to handle it fine when Sam and I weren't here, and you have an Alpha, and two Betas – you'll manage everything until I get out of here."

"Are you suggesting that…Castiel and Gabriel join us in leading the pack?" Sam asked, voice low, and he knew what I was suggesting. I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "The wolves aren't going to like that."

"I won't be in here long."

"…Alright, Dean, we'll see what we can do. Get better."

"I will, Sammy," I murmured, right as I felt Gabriel at my shoulder, waiting to be let out. I stood, looking at him, then the floor. "How many more doses, do you think?" I asked, wishing for a moment that I had something I could fiddle with – I'd never been a fidgeter, but now I felt the overwhelming urge to keep my hands busy. Being cooped up here with nothing to do was giving me a wicked case of cabin fever.

Gabriel sighed, pursing his lips as he looked back at the children. Their shakes and coughing had stopped with the second dose, and it gave me comfort to think that they had another four hours of peace before hell started up again.

"I'd say two or three more for those that have been here longest – Lilly, Ash and Jake. You should be alright within another one dose – I'll see how you feel after it. But that's just guess-work. The disease affects different people in different amounts, and some people will get knocked on their asses harder than others. I'd say you could get out of here within today or the next," Gabriel said with a small shrug, looking down as he swirled around what remained of the medicine in the bottom of his bowl. "I overheard what you were saying – your brother's right. This won't go over well."

"Listen, Gabriel, I know circumstances haven't gotten us off to the best start, but I want what is best for both of our packs. If you are serious about my brother, and he feels the same way, I think the sooner you two begin courting the better. I think it would go a long way to stabilize both of our packs."

His eyes flashed to mine, confused and slightly angry; "Sam and I are not some prize animal you can just trade off for peace, Alpha wolf," he snapped, hands tightening around the bowl. "My intentions for Sam are not for some alliance."

"I know," I replied with a small smile, "but I also know you can help, here, if you and Sam get together. Forgive me – it's how an Alpha thinks." He smirked. "Always plans and schemes."

"And motives, Dean. Don't forget motives."

I smiled more widely, having to overcome the insane, awkward urge to hug him or something – my brother in law, if all went well. "Good luck with Sam – he's going to need you while I'm in here, and in the future. He's got a little hotheaded streak in him that I'm beginning to think isn't just a phase."

"It makes the sex fantastic, though," Gabriel replied smoothly, and I blinked at him before I realized he was joking (hopefully) and wrinkling my nose – gross. Did not want to think about that, and now I couldn't stop. Damn healer. "Can you let me out?"

I nodded, opening the door for him and letting him out. I looked up and around, surveying my pack from a distance. It was midday, and the settlement was full of wolves bustling about. All the cats that I could see were in one place, huddled in a tent that was typically unoccupied and therefore for guests, and glaring out at the wolves as though expecting an attack at any moment. As I watched, Castiel approached them, gesturing out, but they hissed, baring their teeth and shook their heads. They refused to interact. It wasn't going to end well if we couldn't even get a head start.

When I got better, things would definitely have to change.

A few hours later, when I was starting to get that nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach that meant I was about to throw up my last dose, I opened the door again, wanting to let in some fresh air and requested wood and kindling from a passing wolf, so that I could burn what had gathered up in a pile. Once the fire was high and blazing – and I was thankful for it as that day was getting to be unseasonably cold – I sat on the inside of the door jam, just looking out.

I missed touching people. Wolves are like families and often you'd see wolves play-fighting or hugging or giving friendly high-fives – something, _anything _to touch each other. I missed Sam most of all – his influence had always calmed me when I was feeling stressed, feeling my baby brother right next to me, warm and solid and just _there. _Unchanging. No matter what, I knew Sam, as my Beta, would always have my back, and that bond was as reassuring as anything else I could ask for. Now, with this whole upheaval of everything I'd known, surrounding the chaos of this disease and the were-cats settling in, I missed that stability and that relationship I had with my brother more than ever.

"You look sad, Alpha." I jumped, not realizing I was being approached, and blinked over at Castiel as he sat down on the first step leading up to the cabin door. His black toga-like robe clung to his body like a second skin, and I felt a sudden flash of desire before I could stifle it, my cheeks flushing involuntarily as I bit my lip. By God, I missed touching people. "Penny for your thoughts?"

I smiled a little, looking back out to the settlement going about on their way. It was like nothing had happened, and yet everything was different at the same time. "I miss being with people," I confessed, because for all intents and purposes, whether we'd meant to or not, Castiel and I had kind of become mates, and mates tell each other everything. At least, my mother and father had. "Castiel…" I felt his blue-fire gaze on my face; "Jo told me…that were-cats don't fall in love. Is that true?" I couldn't look at him while I asked, but I desperately needed to know – I hated this insecurity, this ignorance that I couldn't shake off, because Castiel and I are so different, and I hated that – I hated that what he could say and do could mean completely different things in his culture than in mine, and I would never be able to get a really good read off of him.

Castiel was silent for a long moment – too long, in fact – and I finally had to turn my head to meet his eyes. They were burning into me when he replied. "Were-cats are complicated, Alpha wolf, and they do not typically fall in love – no." Slowly, I felt my heart sink. "But that is for the lower classes – the cats who can fuck around and it doesn't affect the future. Alphas, and Betas, they can't. They don't – it would be stupid and reckless to think that having more than one sexual partner would be a good thing. It creates instability and emotional distress and -."

"Woah, woah, woah…" I raised my hand as Castiel became more and more agitated, almost growling the words at me, and he blinked up at me, looking almost surprised that I had stopped his rant. "Calm down, there, cowboy. It was just a question."

Castiel growled slightly. "I don't think it would be wise to have two mates, Alpha, or more."

I cocked my head at him, suddenly uncomfortably aware that we were talking about two different conversations. I leaned forward, hating that I couldn't touch him, to reassure him the way I knew how – I wasn't that good with words. "What are you trying to say, Cas?"

"I think you know, Alpha." Castiel's gaze held mine; he wasn't going to back off before I did, and I fought the urge to back down. "I think that, if are planning for bigamy, you should think again."

I sat back, surprised. Was Castiel thinking -? "Cas, I wasn't talking about myself," I said, my exhale becoming a relieved sigh when I smiled, realizing what he was talking about. "I'm not interested in anyone else. Ever." I slid a hand forward, as close to touching him as I dared. "As far as I'm concerned, you are my mate." I dropped my gaze, then. "I was just afraid that…you didn't feel the same way."

It was a bold move, and I knew I was kind of baring my soul to this man, to this cat whose mood swings were fast enough to give me whiplash, but I missed Castiel, and I wanted to know that…it was just us. Castiel had bitten me, and even though I knew it was a crime of passion more than anything else, but he'd _told _me that he'd planned for it – he claimed me on purpose and he was _mine, _now, damn it.

Then, there was a low laugh, and my eyes flashed to Castiel's face again. The were-cat was smiling, shaking his head a little. "What a pair we make. You have nothing to worry about, Dean," he said, smiling over at me as he leaned closer. "I don't intend to take another mate."

I flushed at his lecherous gaze, biting my lip and looking down, and wishing now more than ever I could touch you. In fact, it slipped from me before I could stop it, and I didn't even realize I'd said anything until I blinked and saw Castiel hand covering mine, warm and slightly calloused.

I pulled away reflexively, holding my hand to my chest like he'd burned it. "You can't touch me, Alpha, you'll get sick," I said, worry making my tone harsher than I'd meant it, and I immediately wanted to apologize, but he just grinned.

"Well, in for a penny…" He moved in again, but I moved back, beginning to close the door so he couldn't touch me again. I even growled in warning at him, because it's one thing to run into a quarantine zone and quite another to start making out with another infected person. I wasn't quick enough to stop him sliding forward between my legs, a hand curling around the back of my head and pulling me into a kiss. I couldn't imagine it was pleasant – I mean, I had just puked up my guts and then drank another disgusting concoction that tasted of sour honey and molasses – but that didn't seem to stop his tongue sliding into my mouth, running over the roof and making me shiver. I was sensitive there, and he knew it, the bastard, and I felt him smirk against my lips as he raised his other hand to cover my neck, holding me to him and angling myself so that he was essentially holding me up – when I stopped trying to prop myself up with my arms, to fight him off, he followed me down so his body was laid across mine.

The touches felt good, I'll admit, but I couldn't let him get sick – I wasn't cured yet, damn it and he was being an idiot just because he couldn't keep it in his pants (so to speak). I tried pushing at his chest, digging in my nails to push him away, and eventually when he had to – you know, breathe or die – I took advantage, arching back so I could get my legs up and shoving him away.

I growled at him, frowning and ignoring the eyes I could feel of the children on me. Castiel curled his legs under him, sitting this time so he was just inside the cabin, and I frowned at his blatant, idiotic show of bravado – he was going to get infected and I wouldn't have it. I pushed him out forcibly, sending him onto his ass outside the cabin. "Go fucking get your brother to give you a dose of medicine. If you get sick then so help me God I'm going to kill you," I growled, wanting him to just get a freaking clue already. My lips tingled where he'd kissed me, and I realized he'd bitten at them – and _fuck, _that shouldn't make me feel warm, but it did – and my body felt hot, burning.

Castiel smirked at me, the bastard, cocking his head to one side. "You just told me that I was your mate – your only one, and that you wanted no one else. If I feel the same way, then what's wrong?"

My eyes narrowed as I glared at him. I'm pretty sure it fell flat from the fact that the medicine was starting to make my stomach revolt again. I felt like I was going to be sick. "I am not at full strength yet, Castiel, and I can't risk infecting you. Please, please go get medicine, and as soon as I'm better – I promise – then we'll talk. _Please." _

He bit the inside of his cheek, considering me with narrowed, calculating eyes. Then, he stood. "Very well. Forgive me, Alpha – I was not in my right mind."

I nodded, uncomfortable with his stiff and sudden formality. He inclined his head back at me, and left, and damn it – I didn't want him to go, but I didn't seem to have any other choice. I couldn't get him sick. I watched as he went right to Gabriel, and his brother's eyes flashed to me, before they left into the tent that Sam usually resided in. I almost smirked at that – Gabriel had certainly managed to make himself at home, probably before we had that talk anyway. Sigh – Betas. What can you do?

"Alpha?" I turned my head, closing the door as the children crawled towards me, sniffing at me curiously. "Have you taken a mate?" Andy's eyes were wide on me, and the bite on my neck, and Lilly was already reaching out towards me, as though Castiel's touch was a physical mark on my skin. I watched as she traced over Castiel's bite on my shoulder that he'd dealt me our first night together, and had faded to a thin white scar. "That Alpha cat?"

I nodded, my eyes closing as Lilly's fingertips ran over the bite, an involuntary shiver running through my body. "The Alpha cat – Castiel – is my mate, and the packs will be united when that mating is finalized. I believe that our Betas also intend to mate. Our pack will be strong once we solidify this alliance."

"Sam and Gabriel?" Jake asked in a low voice, and my eyes flashed over to him, as I knew he and Sam had a little bit of history – nothing _huge, _really, but there'd been some messing around. As both Sam's family and Alpha, I had intimate knowledge of every relationship – serious and otherwise – that he'd taken part in, even the ones I'd rather not know about. Jake and he had been one of those teenager flings that lasted maybe a week.

I nodded again. "Will that be a problem, Jake?" I asked in a low, serious voice, because any reservations should come out now in the early stages so they can be dealt with. It lessens the changes of mutiny and sabotage.

Jake shook his head quickly, hand up towards me and patting the air in a 'calm down' motion, and I nodded, settling the conversation. I sighed, sitting back and wincing as my stomach clenched uneasily – God, this medicine _sucked _with a capital _sucked. _Still, I did feel better between doses and eventually, as I understood it, I would come to a point where I _wouldn't _puke up the medicine, which meant there was no more poison to purge, and I'd be alright. All the children seemed to be improving, and Lilly was still alive – the one that Gabriel had been worried about.

Castiel had finally admitted he wanted me. Not in so many words, really, but he _did. _He got _jealous _when I talked about taking a mate (or a second mate), and he said he _felt the same way. _Castiel was mine. I'd get him to admit it one day, but for now I was comforted with his bite on my neck and his taste in my mouth.

Gabriel came in about an hour later, when we'd all upchucked the medicine. Well, all except me. Gabriel raised an eyebrow when I told him this, and then shrugged. "That means it's working. Probably done, and I'd recommend you _not _stay in here. Try and limit contact but…if you go through the night without recurring systems, I'd say you're free to go."

I wanted to stay and make sure the other children were alright, but as they wisely pointed out – I'd just been cured. I didn't want to get _re_infected. That would just be pointless. I sighed, leaving the cabin and the afternoon light was blinding. I heard birdsong, and it's really like leaving prison – you feel free and it's amazing.

I headed straight to my tent – Doctor's orders, after all – and found Castiel already in there, grinning at me. I sighed – figures he'd be impatient – and sat down opposite him, my legs crossed. My tent was much the same as Castiel's, in fact, with the exception that there were no wolf furs in here – more bears and deer than anything else, and I didn't take the skins of my enemies. I turned my head when I felt Castiel move closer, nuzzling into my neck where the bite lay, and my eyes falling closed as I relaxed. I'd missed being touched, especially by Castiel (despite the fact that it mostly hurt when he touched me), and I sighed, feeling his warm breath on the back of my neck and his teeth just scraping against my skin.

I protested half-heartedly when Castiel's hands began exploring, running down and around my chest and further, and pushed back against his stomach with the flat of my palm. "Don't. I'm all gross, sweaty and dirty."

"Mmmm…I can help with that," Castiel purred, his tongue warm and wet on the back of my neck and along the bottom of my hairline. I shivered lightly against him, leaning back because despite the fact that I felt better, I also felt weak – like a yearling, or an old person. Castiel's hand wrapped around my cock and I whined, leaning back against him because his touch felt _so good, _but it wasn't…God, I don't even know. I was so tired, I just wanted to sleep, but he felt so good and warm and like home and -. "Stop thinking so much, Alpha – I don't want anything from you. I just want to make you feel good. Relax," he purred, nuzzling into my shoulder, teeth catching on the raised scar of his mating bite, which he reopened, and I shuddered, arching into his fist as he began pumping me firmly, a fluid, moderate pace that felt fantastic and had me moaning through clenched teeth.

But I obeyed, and relaxed against his chest, letting him take my weight as his free hand wrapped around my chest, pulling him back against his body and I moaned again when his thumb teased at the slit, so much sensation after days being kept away from it too much. I came embarrassingly fast, covering his hand and my stomach in my come as I turned my head, whining against his jaw, teeth bared and sinking into his skin around the corner of his jaw. He purred and moaned, nuzzling into my shoulder as I went rigid against him, and then practically collapsed, gasping into his neck.

"_Fuck, _Cas," I growled, kind of beyond any more words than that at the moment, and my body moved when he chuckled against me. "That was…"

"I'm happy to help, Alpha wolf," Castiel purred in reply, nuzzling me once more. "Now, you need to sleep, and regain your strength." He shifted, and I sighed as he practically carried me over to a thick bed of furs, laying me down on them – and I'll bitch about the manhandling when I wasn't about to collapse from exhaustion.

"You're staying, right?" I asked drowsily, eyes already closing.

"…Do you want me to stay, Dean?"

"Fuck, Cas, of course," I snapped back, reaching for him and smiling when he fit against my back (again, I'll bitch about being the little spoon later), his body a hard mesh of lines and muscle and giving off so much heat he was like a furnace. "You're my mate, and –" I broke off to yawn, "- I want you here with me."

I felt him smile against me, one arm thrown over my chest, legs tangled with mine, and he nipped gently at the top of my spine. "Sleep, Dean, my beautiful wolf," he purred, running his nose through my hair; "My mate. Sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up."

I fell asleep to warm hands on my body and Castiel's steady heartbeat against my back, and I swear to God I haven't been this happy in a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Pr0ns?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

Okay. Eesh. This took FOREVER to get written. Combining my recent (and relentless) bout of illness will the…just…God, I HATE this chapter. It's just…Ugh. *headdesk* I have plans. I just had to get this…out of the way? I'm sorry. *hugs the fic and then slinks away*

* * *

I woke up warm, and the sensation was kind of foreign, given that the cabin had been cold and with Gabriel's instructions not to touch each other, we hadn't curled up much for body heat. I sighed, feeling the warmth of an arm around me, and jerked upright, startled almost by it. I ended up leaning away from a sleepily stirring Castiel, who groaned low in his throat and blinked open eyes dulled by sleep.

I flushed a little when his eyes met mine, immediately brightening as he focused on me and began waking up. He was a quick waker – I liked that. He chuckled, exhaling through his smile as he turned onto his back, stretching his arms over his head. "Good morning, Dean. Sleep well?"

"Very," I answered honestly, watching the stretch, bunch and pull of his muscles as he stretched, arms high over his head and back arching up, cracking once or twice, and I just _had _to touch. His chest, first, feeling the expand-contract movement of his breathing as my hand splayed out against his paler skin, untouched by the sun because of the clothes he wore. I only now noticed he had a very mild tan-line across his chest and over one shoulder, and then down on the lower part of his legs and both his arms. I moved so I was hovering over him, leaning down and tracing the difference of his skin color around his neck with my tongue and lips, inhaling his scent because I hadn't had much of a chance to last night.

He purred, his hands threading through my hair and petting, head resting back against the furs as he bared his throat for me for the first time, and I pushed closer into his space, biting down gently enough to leave no mark on his neck – if I bit him now, our mating would be very much complete, and I still had things I needed to take care of before that happened.

"What time is it?" I murmured against his ear, like he would know, and he sighed when I stopped touching him, pulling away to watch his face.

He thought for a moment, eyes flickering over my shoulder to stare at the tent opening, and then back to me. "It's still dark outside. Very, very dark," he said, making it sound like the dirtiest, hottest thing on the planet, and I flushed again when one of his hands ran down my back to cup my ass, using that to pull me closer to him. "And I'm no longer tired," he whispered, his lips brushing against mine as he stared at me with hooded eyes. "Come on, Alpha, I still have a promise to keep to you."

I hesitated, almost scared to ask – "What promise?" His gaze was heavy, a physical weight against my chest, making it difficult to breath. My senses were assaulted – pheromones, body heat, a locked gaze that, honest to God, I couldn't break away from if I tried, all combined into one heady, potent mix that had my breathing coming hard and fast, my body reacting to him and how close he was, and I shuddered when his fingers moved, massaging the flesh of my ass, his fingers just dipping in between the cheeks and brushing against my opening.

Castiel chuckled, his smile making his lips slide against mine again. I panted against him, licking at the corner of his mouth as he spoke; "To fuck you into the next week. I have a lot of plans for you, Alpha, and they're not going to act out themselves."

I shivered again, rolling my hips against his hard cock and earning a low growl-purr from him, but then I remembered that I currently had three days (at least) of stink on me, and had only been eating raw meat and Gabriel's medicine, and had recently been vomiting up said potion, and then had come all over myself. I was gross.

"Bathing, then sex," I demanded – or tried to; it came out more like a gasp against his jaw as Castiel took his damn sweet liberty snaking his free hand around me, fisting my cock with a torturous, perfectly-tight grip. I hissed when his thumb slid over the slit. "Fuck, Castiel, seriously – bath first."

The Alpha cat sighed the sigh of the long-suffering, and I chuckled as I placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Come on, honey," I said teasingly, "I'll put out for you if you get me clean."

"What's the point when I just intend to defile you all over again?" Castiel griped in reply, and God – he was such a _man, _complaining about not getting sex. Granted, the hard-on he had left me with was uncomfortable at best, but I could deal with it and so could he. "Aren't dogs meant to hate baths?"

"Aren't cats?" I quipped, heading out of the tent opening quietly and looking around to see if any other wolves were up. The only movement was the light breeze in the trees and the occasional snuffle-snore of one of my pack members (or Castiel's) shifting in their sleep. I grinned, feeling kind of like I was a teenager again; sneaking out of mine and my brother's tent to go screw around in the lake and forest, and then Castiel followed me out of the tent and my attention returned to the here and now.

He snapped into a cat after I changed into a wolf, and then we were running. He wasn't…at home in the trees. That's as delicately as I can put it without blatantly making fun of him, but he was like a fish out of water. He wasn't used to ducking and dodging trees that sometimes sprung up out of nowhere, and wasn't used to things like obstacles such as fallen trunks or roots or boulders. The only thing he had to account for where the huge potholes on the marshes, and I had to stifle laughter as he took the bark off more than one tree as we ran, getting mud and leaves in his sleek pelt.

"_Looks like we'll both need the bath," _I called to him as he narrowly avoided head-butting a giant old oak. He hissed at me, tail flicking in dispassionate annoyance, and I snickered, kind of enjoying that fact that there was something he could learn from me, no matter how trivial it may be. He was a lot older than me, after all – I felt it sometimes when he spoke, deep in my bones – but the fact that our kinds could benefit from each other lightened my heart, and we ran the rest of the way in silence.

I'll admit, I kind of pushed myself too hard on the way to the lake – I had massive cabin fever, and running out in the trees felt so freaking good, that I shoved my body to the very edge of what I could do, running too fast and jumping over things I should have just skirted around. My legs were shaking by the time I stopped and my fur stuck to my flanks and neck from sweat, my coat near-black from it, but it felt fantastic having work-hot muscles and a heavily-beating heart, my breath misting in the air as I waited for Castiel to join me.

He came lumbering out of the trees a few moments later, and stopped, staring ahead. I knew what he was seeing – it was what I saw here when I came here for the first time. The place is beautiful, even more so during the summer when all the plants are flowering. Huge oaks branch out, almost covering a massive lake that touches from one root to another, all along the circular border as though the lake is one massive puddle that the trees are growing out of. When I was younger I used to think that the Earth was actually always like this – made of water – and everything we stood on just grew out of it. The trees are long-limbed and stretch towards each other to create a small gap up top which lets in just a little bit of light during the day, but it's shady and green-tinged and warm all the time here. The trees trap the heat in and keep the wind out, and it's my favorite place in the whole forest.

Castiel approached me, a human once again, and I changed back too so I could talk to him. There was awe in his eyes, because I knew they didn't have anything like this on the marshes – again, I was happy to have brought that look to his face, and joined him in watching the still scene, breathing easy for the first time in a while.

"You are full of surprises, Alpha," he said, voice low and rough as though he was afraid of breaking the silence. I knew what it felt like – you're just so reverent that you can't imagine disturbing the scene in front of you. It's that freaking beautiful.

I smiled at him, nuzzling close for a moment before taking his hand and tugging him towards the lake. "Come on, Cas," I said to him, smiling more widely when he willingly followed. My toes dipped in the water that was warmed by the still, trapped air, and I sighed, closing my eyes and leading the way in by feel. The roots grew deep into the first few feet of the borders of the pool and if you're not careful you can catch your feet on them and cut them. I made Castiel follow my every step carefully, glad for the semi-clarity of the water so I could see where I was going.

I let his hand slip from mine as I dove forward, going deep under the water until I could touch the very bottom of the lake, which was maybe three, four, meters deep. The warmish water wrapped around my body and felt amazing. I felt a million times better already.

When I surfaced in the middle of the pool, wiping what little hair that had fallen into my eyes away, I looked back to find Castiel still standing on the edge of the pool, looking a little uncertain. In a few strokes I was back to him. "What's the matter?" I asked, standing once I felt my feet hit the bottom, rising a little out of the water so it came up to my waist.

Castiel folded his arms over his chest, looking a little uncomfortable, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I can't," he muttered, almost too low for me to hear.

"Can't what?" I asked, confused.

His eyes flashed to mine, irritated and defensive. "I can't swim, Dean."

…_Oh. _At once I felt foolish – of course he couldn't swim. There weren't large lakes and streams on the marshes – the water was built into the food. Cats groomed themselves too, licking themselves clean – they had no need for large bodies of water. He would never have had to learn to swim. I blushed a little in shame, biting my bottom lip for a moment before looking around, and then held out my hand. Water dripped from my fingertips, disturbing the surface.

"Let me teach you," I asked, requested softly, hoping he would trust me enough to do this with me. I wanted to be able to share this with him – all of this – and it was just another thing I could teach him. "You'll love the water, Cas, trust me."

He looked at me for a long, long moment, unblinking, his gaze appraising like the first day we met, before he stepped forward cautiously, wading towards me and fitting his hand in mine. He was glaring at the water like it was a monster that could rise up and attack him, and I smiled at his attitude. "Come on, Cas, deeper," I coaxed gently, remembering when I had taught Sammy how to swim – hopefully Castiel doesn't flail as much.

"The body floats naturally," I told him, stepping back a couple feet as he followed me deeper and deeper into the water, so it was just rising above our stomachs now. "Everyone is born knowing how to do it, but then we get afraid of it and we forget." When the water was up to my collarbone I pulled him close to me, sliding my hands down his flanks. "Kick your legs and use your arms, Cas. Tread water."

He looked at me like I had gone mad, but bit his lip and tried to obey. I could see his arms moving frantically under the water, trying to keep himself afloat whenever he managed to get his feet off the bottom of the lake. I smiled, catching his hips whenever he was in danger of sinking below the surface. "Slower, Cas, you don't need that much to keep up, and remember – you'll float."

It took a while, but eventually I had him swimming around on his own. He favored – and this cracked me up to no end – the doggie paddle as opposed to any stronger strokes. I didn't mind, because he still managed to hold his own when swimming with me, occasionally splashing me playfully as we swam, and we were both laughing as we returned to the edge of the lake, having spent close to two hours playing and swimming, and crawled out, clean and exhausted.

I collapsed at the edge, panting and grinning like a loon, my head pillowed on my arms to keep it out of the water but the rest of me was still submerged in the warm lake. I sighed happily, closing my eyes, and that's when Cas – the sneaky bastard – decided to take advantage.

His hot, lithe body slid up behind mine, half on his side and half on top of me, one hand splayed out along the bottom of my ribcage for a handhold as he nuzzled behind my ear, a purr rumbling low in his chest that I could feel against my back. "Mmm…I think I like the way wolves get clean, Alpha," he said, and I had to smile, turning on my back so I could look at him. His eyes were bright, glowing almost, hair plastered to his face except for where it had already started to dry because he didn't submerge his head much, curling at the ends. I curled my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down for a lazy kiss that felt like the morning sun, slow and golden and warm.

I mewled for him when he nipped lightly at my bottom lip, sliding his tongue into my mouth when I opened for him, and sighed happily, relaxed for the first time in a while as my fingers combed through his hair, his hand stroking lazily down my side. I shifted a little, letting my legs open so that he could fall between them, and almost smirked when I felt his hard-on against my thigh. "And you called _me _insatiable, Alpha," I teased, biting back at him playfully when he pulled away, smirking down at me in a way that made me feel hot all over.

"Hello Pot, I'm Kettle," he replied, and I laughed, shaking my head at the dry joke. I smiled up at my mate – and _God, _it's so weird to think of him as my mate now – and pulled him down for another kiss, eyes falling closed when he rocked against me, rumbling in the back of his throat. He tasted like the water and I sighed against him, letting him tilt my head back and nuzzle at my throat, teeth catching on my Adam's apple before he slid further down, licking and biting as he went. He nuzzled into my chest, eyes closed and purr almost deafening in the otherwise silent clearing, and I smiled, carding my fingers through his hair as he rubbed his stubbled cheek against my chest, tongue flicking out over a nipple, so cat-like it was unbelievable.

Sometimes it was hard to associate this affectionate, slow-moving and gentle cat with the powerful Alpha I first met, and I was glad that I got to see this side of him, even if others rarely did. In fact, that made it all the more special, because this was _Castiel, _with me. Not even 'Castiel' – _Cas. _My mate.

I bit back a moan when he bit down on my flank where he'd pierced my skin before, angry with me over challenging him over hunting. My instinct was to shy away from the pain, but I wanted him closer at the same time. I mewled behind clenched teeth, arching into his mouth as his tongue flicked at the tiny amount of blood, kitten-like, and his hands splayed over my chest for balance before he kept sliding down, kneeling in the water which rippled over my skin, ebbing and flowing and leaving goose bumps behind.

When his mouth sealed around my cock, I howled embarrassingly loudly, arching up into that delicious heat and friction. He moaned, eyes closing as his nostrils flared for air, cheeks hollowing as he just…_took it. _And _fuck, _that's hot. He twisted his head, sinking down further so his nose brushed against the hair around the base and I hissed again, desperately trying to grab onto something for purchase. One hand ended up in his hair, knotting at the back of his head, the other at my own mouth, trying to stop more embarrassing noises escaping. I curled my fingers into a fist, biting down on my knuckles as I whined against them, eyes clenched tightly shut as Castiel started doing…_fucking illegal _things to my cock. His tongue kept curling around the head, dragging over the slit with the rough of it and then licking at the sensitive underside, teeth just catching at the thick vein. I moaned, pulling at his hair just a little too harshly. It was too much, too fucking much, and _God, _was going to fucking come, right the fuck –

He pulled off. The bastard pulled off, and my breath left me in a huge gust against my fingers. I whined, unable to quite process what the fuck had just happened, when Castiel's face swam into my vision again. I growled at him – because _what the fuck?_

He smirked, stroking the side of my face with his fingertips. "I told you, Alpha, I have plans for you."

"Death by spontaneous combustion?" I managed to snap back and score for putting together a full sentence when my brain was still a melted puddle of sex-goo. I was shaking, sweat covering what part of my body wasn't in the water, and my cock _hurt. _Fuck did it hurt. I reached down, intent on finding some relief because I was pretty sure it wouldn't take long at all.

Castiel's hand caught me before I could touch myself, grabbing and pinning both wrists above my head. "No, Dean," he growled, using that age-old voice that was a command I could feel in my very _soul, _and I shivered, eyes closing as my back arched, trying desperately to find friction against his body. "Be still."

I obeyed immediately. I don't know how – it was just like my body had no choice but to obey, and I realized what he'd done – he'd used the 'Alpha voice', like I had with Sam. Like I had with Castiel before he told me he wanted love from me.

_God. _I didn't know it could affect other Alphas.

I'm so _fucked. _

It was kind of frightening that when I tried to fight the 'voice', it _hurt. _Like acid reflux in my gut, it burned – but I was glad that I _could, _at least, fight it, otherwise I really would be in trouble. I managed to get my hands to his head and pull him down, and he growled into the kiss, angry that I was disobeying.

Fuck that. I'm an Alpha here, too. I growled right back at him, trying to push him away to maybe get the advantage, but I was still weak from the medicine's toll on my body, and I have a feeling Castiel would have been stronger than me anyway. He pinned me down again with ease, burying his nose in my pulse and inhaling, the exhale coming out as a low, rough laugh. "There's the fight," he purred, his hair tickling my neck as he moved lower down again, and I thought he might actually _finish what he started, _and was surprised therefore to suddenly find myself lying on my stomach.

In a lake where you can easily cut your feet stepping in the wrong place, having my cock trapped between my body and said lake bed could have ended very…messily. Luckily, I ended up having no such problem, coming into contact with wet dirt, comparatively soft against the roots. The move had lowered me in the water so my shoulders were almost completely submerged, and I couldn't rest my head.

He plastered himself to my back so I had to hold both of our weights out of the water. One hand wrapped around my stomach, pressing upwards so I lifted my hips, and the other's fingers dragged over my hole, just pressing around it. God, the Alpha cat is such a _fucking. Tease. _I told him as much and he laughed, his voice gravel-rough and deep against my ear; "A tease doesn't deliver, Dean. I intend to."

He pushed one finger in, to the first knuckle, and I hissed, clenching on reflex and trying to force him out, because in reality it hadn't been that long a time since we'd done it, but I felt like a virgin all over again. (Yes, I was an ass virgin, thank you. What can I say? – Alphas don't usually bottom). This _Cas _was not the same as the _Castiel _I had first met, and I felt the same sort of difference in me as a tangible thing. I shivered when he pet down my flank, soothing me in his low rumble of a voice as he kept pushing in, burying his finger in me as far as it could go. My breath left me in a huge gust when he crooked his finger, dragging along my prostate, white fire running up my spine. I shivered when he twisted his finger, pulling it out before pushing back in, and my head dropped. I had to shove up onto my elbows to stop myself inadvertently drowning, and he knelt back behind me so that I didn't have to hold us both.

The water wasn't a good lubricant, so Castiel took his time with me, and I was so turned on it was _painful _by the time he actually got to the good part. He slid in slowly, so that I could feel every inch of him filling me up, and I groaned when he bottomed out, feeling very close to collapsing. _That _would be embarrassing as hell.

Castiel's fingers dug into my hips as he pulled me back onto him, hissing when I clenched at the action, taken by surprise. He ran a hand up and down my spine, his palm large and warm against my tense muscles, urging me to relax, and I was trying, really, but it was difficult. The pleasure was actually painful. My cock hung heavily between my legs, and with every thrust Castiel sent a lightning shock of more pleasure through me. I had to come _now _or I was pretty sure I'd die.

"Castiel, _please," _I begged, ripping at the tree roots under my hands as I desperately tried to grab for purchase, rocking back onto his cock as I whined, high-pitched in the back of my throat. I shuddered when his teeth sank into my neck, reopening that bite wound (yet again – Jesus) and I came without him touching me, making a choked-off sound that was probably something between a growl and a moan and as embarrassing as both. Castiel growled, his jaws clamping down and drawing blood as he kept rocking into my boneless body, and I mewled when his hand wrapped around my spent cock (too late, jerk) and _squeezed, _milking me through my orgasm until I really _did _collapse, breathless with my head just out of the water, and he stilled, filling me up with a low, muffled, wet groan against my shoulder. "_Fuck."_

Castiel chuckled, pulling out with a low hiss. "I think we just did, Alpha," he replied, chuckling again. I was too tired to respond, so settled with giving him the finger. He laughed again, biting at my wrist as I let it flop back down and plastered himself to my back, heaving a long sigh against my neck. "Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas?" I asked, the words kind of slurring together and it came out more like a 'NyhCs'.

He carded a hand through my hair, nuzzling into the back of my neck. "The pack's not going to be happy about this. About you and me, and our brothers. There's only so much I can order my cats to do."

I sighed, because _really? _I'd just shot all my brain cells out my dick, and wasn't in the mood for such a serious conversation, but I knew it had to happen sooner or later. "I think that my wolves will be welcoming for the most part. We're fairly open-minded and liberal as it is. I think that…things will work out more or less, Cas, and you can't worry about what others will say about it. I mean…" I half-shrugged, blinking my eyes open to meet his. "It's not like they can do anything about it."

He 'hmm'ed quietly, still looking worried, his brow furrowed in thought and eyes dark with anxiety, and I sighed again, turning onto my back to look through the hole in the tree canopy. It was getting lighter – sunrise wasn't far away. "We'll go back in an hour, and call a meeting, and explain everything. And then you shall send for the rest of your cats. Anyone that has protests will be dealt with before the actual move happens – I won't have civil war on my own lands," I said fiercely, knowing that except for a few wolves, my pack was probably going to be fairly welcoming – we were, after all, the ones reaching out to try and mend the divide between wolves and cats. We'd be hypocrites otherwise. "Those that have problems can go through me."

Castiel chuckled. "Why, Alpha, where did this fierce warrior come from?" he asked, amused. I smiled back at him.

"Honey, you ain't seen nothin' yet," I told him, hoping that all went well, and he would never have to.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Pr0ns?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

I'm sorry it took so long to write this part. The pr0n kind of melted my brain. *sadface* Then I was busy with RL and…yeah. ALSO! Next week I am leaving for Germany. I will be gone for over a week. In that time don't expect updates (I might get lucky, but probably not). Just giving some warning (:

* * *

We swam in the lake for another half hour before finally getting out, dripping wet and warm, steam rising gently off of us as we dried off. I changed into a wolf and shook myself, getting rid of excess water – which Castiel seemed to think was freaking _hilarious _– before we were running again.

Dawn was just ending as we ran, when the sky is almost completely blue but still tinged with red and purple around the horizon, and the clouds look like they're lit on fire. I slowed when we reached the edge of the camp, coming to an end when I caught sight of Lisa's tent. I had to go in there – I had no idea what I would say, but I had to say something, I had to make sure she was alright.

Castiel nodded, seeming to understand, and I brushed my jaw against his shoulder in thanks before changing back into a wolf. He stalked off towards his tent that that's the last I saw of him, before I entered Lisa's.

Single mothers were rare in wolf society, but they happened. When that was the case they sort of became the whole pack's concern, and everyone helped them with little things that they could get overwhelmed with, especially in the beginning when the baby is new and everything is crazy. Tents for families were twice as large as those for the single wolves, and Lisa had been sure to fill hers with trinkets and various things that made it more…comfortable. Moderately large rocks were piled together then amply covered in furs to create a sort of lounging area, surrounding the fire pit that lay in the centre of the room for a communal kind of setting. Along the edges she had things people had given her – carved bits of wood or paintings that Ben had done when he was smaller. I smiled, taking these in, feeling overwhelmed with the sorrow of knowing that this boy – the boy who could have been my own son – wasn't alive anymore.

She was awake, curled in on herself with a deer fur covering her legs, looking down at a fossil that Ben had found one day by one of the forest lakes. I remember that day – I'd been with him, teaching him how to hunt and testing for any Alpha tendencies, to see if he would make a good one. It was too early to tell, but I remember him finding that fossil and asking what it could have been. It was white against black stone, inlaid in the shape of a small beetle-type creature that I'd never seen before – that must have been alive before our time. Perhaps when humans were still around.

Lisa's head snapped up when I called her name, and she hurriedly pushed herself to her feet, wiping furiously at her face – like her tears were something to be ashamed of. "Alpha. I didn't hear you come in."

I approached her, drawing her into my arms as tightly as I dared. She seemed fragile to me, now, like I could break her if I handled her too roughly. She sobbed, sagging into my arms with a choked cry, burying her face in my shoulder. My heart ached for her, and I closed my eyes, stroking her hair like a child.

"Shh, Lisa, shh," I said, at a loss of what else there was _to _say. I didn't have enough actual emotional attachment to cry over Ben, but I felt like I _should. _I felt like I should have this whole speech – ashes to ashes and all that shit – but I didn't feel that bullshit, and I respected Lisa too much to feed her that stuff. "Just let it all out, okay? It's alright, just keep going."

When Jess had died, Sam had been…cold. Blank. It wasn't healthy, and I knew it wasn't – he was probably still in shock, I kept telling myself, or he just didn't know how to handle it. He had nightmares about her death, but he never talked about her. He never tried to and I never asked, until one day…God, I can remember it clearly –

We were hunting. Elk, I think it had been, back when we lived further north where they were in abundance, and Sam disobeyed my orders. It almost got him killed and I – I'm ashamed to admit – lost my cool a little bit. I yelled at him, and hit him, called him a stupid son of a bitch for making me worry like that, and he just…hit me back. It's one of the first times we honestly fought in a physical way because we were angry with each other. He can punch _hard, _and by the time I even thought to fight back he'd broken my nose and almost dislocated my shoulder. By the time we were both too exhausted to actually stand anymore, had collapsed next to each other on the cold dirt ground, Sam was sobbing. I remember it clearly – the agony on his face, the way his tears left white behind on his flushed cheeks and how, even when I pulled him close and let him cry against me, he still landed a punch to my ribcage, cracking two of them. He let it all out on that day, cried until there were no more tears, and then sobbing until he made himself sick with it, dry heaving and desperately trying to get a hold of himself. I held him through it. He was my baby brother and I was so happy that he'd finally just let it all out that I just held him through it, and then when he was done we reminisced the entire night instead of hunting, and came back wounded and empty-handed, and the pack never asked.

Lisa never asked, but I think she knew.

I learned the same lesson Sam did when Dad died. I kept it all bottled up even when I felt like the anger and hatred was going to consume me from the inside out. I practically ripped Adam several new ones when he made a minor mistake, and Sam, the bastard, called me on it –

It wasn't healthy to keep everything bottled up. That much I'd learned now. So when Lisa kept crying against me I held her close, stroking her hair like I used to when we were courting, before we broke up, and inhaled her scent, because it had been a long time and I'd almost forgotten. She smelled of wood spice and chestnuts, and she reminded me of Christmas. I smiled against her temple, placing a chaste kiss there before she pulled away. Her arms were on my shoulders and she stepped back to regard me at arm's length, her eyes searching my face for a long time.

"You're looking better," she said in a voice that was still low and thick with tears. I nodded.

"I feel better."

She gave me a wan little smile. "I'm glad."

"Lisa, I'm so -."

"No, Alpha," she said, cutting me off and raising her hand to stop my words. She shook her head, her smile shaking a little at the corners as she stepped away, going back to sit where she had been. She picked up the fossil and held it in her hands, turning it over and over to keep her hands busy while she spent her time not looking at me. "Don't say it, please. It's just one of those things that happens." She flashed her dark eyes up to mine. "You couldn't have stopped it, and you couldn't have known it was happening. Sometimes Fate throws us a curve-ball, you know?"

I forced a smile, because though I didn't agree, I did understand her need to believe that it was just something that couldn't be helped. I didn't say that if I had been here and not captured by an enemy, inexperienced hunters wouldn't have caught the diseased animal and fed it to the children. My gut burned with the need to point that out, but I didn't. Because she didn't need that.

"You are with the Alpha cat now," she said, changing the subject and letting the fossil fall, and I sighed, nodding. "I hope he takes care of you. I hope he gives you what he needs."

This time my smile was genuine, if small; "Thank you, Lisa." She nodded back at me. "I'm calling a pack meeting in a few hours. Tell whoever you come across, okay?" She nodded again, and I hugged her once more. "If you ever need anything, please, please don't hesitate to tell me," I said, and then I left her alone, letting her grieve in peace.

I hadn't even taken two steps out of the tent before I heard a low, loud growl, coming from the centre of the camp. It sounded like Gordon, and I knew that couldn't be good. I started running, and I was a wolf by the time I made it to the middle of the camp.

All the were-cats were there, changed into their feline shapes, hissing and growling at Gordon and a few other wolves that, for their sake, I didn't take time to recognize. It looked like the wolves were forming a barricade between the cats and the direction of the marshes, so they couldn't leave. Castiel and Gordon were currently having the face-off, barely inches from each other, and Castiel looked _pissed. _Like, inches away from ripping Gordon's head off kind of pissed.

"_What's going on?" _I growled, deliberately getting between the two of them, pushing Castiel back with my body and silently thankful when he went without much protest. _"What's the meaning of this?"_

"_The cats are trying to leave, to amass their army," _Gordon replied with a low snarl, teeth bared, hackles raising. It seemed impossible to me that he would have reached such a conclusion, but he continued; _"They've been here for a few days now. They know our weaknesses and the layout of our camp. They will leave and then bring back more cats and wipe us out."_

I blinked at him, then at Castiel. Then I remembered that Castiel couldn't hear us, and looked back to Gordon. _"You're insane. I _gave _them permission to move here, Gordon – there _will _be more cats coming! What's going on?" _The last part I directed to Castiel, keeping one eye on Gordon in case he decided that it would be a good idea to attack while I was distracted.

It would be a mistake he'd only learn once.

"_Jo's giving birth," _Castiel replied with an uneasy flick of his tail, whiskers twitching; _"It is proving to be difficult, and I wanted to set up a relay for my cats so that we can know what is going on. Some of them are already on the move, and with the recent plague here it would be chaos – I need to communicate with my clan. Right the fuck now and your _wolves _are getting in the way."_

"_No need to be rude about it," _I snapped back, huffing a little, then bodily shoved at Gordon. _"Get the fuck out of the way, you moron, and that goes for all of you!" _I growled, looking towards the little posse Gordon had assembled. _"Go human, right now, or so help me God I'll make you permanently so." _

Gordon snarled at me, and I don't know where this sudden extreme disobedience came from, but I would _not _stand for it, so I growled right back, telling Castiel and his cats to run when they could, and then I just…attacked. I launched myself at Gordon with a low snarl, quickly grabbing a hold of him with my front claws, digging into his shoulder and back. He wasn't expecting it – I'd never been overly violent to my own kind – but managed to swing his head and catch me on the leg with his mouth, clamping down hard enough to draw blood. I yelped but kept going, shoving him down and snapping at his jaws in an attempt to get some sort of hold on him. I felt other members of my pack drawn there by the noise of fighting.

"_For fuck's sake, stand down!" _I yelled at the wolves as one by one each of them began to phase. Castiel's ears went back when Gordon sank his teeth into my neck, yanking savagely and earning himself a low whine of pain from me. Fuck, that hurt like a _bitch. _I heard Sam calling my name, knew he would try to stop the fight himself if I didn't, and so I lunged, wrapping my jaws around Gordon's own and I _pulled, _shoving him down into the dirt. My move had cost me – I felt Gordon's claws piercing my soft underbelly, but it was worth it; I had his jaws in my mouth, and I began to bite down, feeling flesh and bone give way. The metallic tang of blood coated my tongue and I growled low in pleasure at the kill, feeling the more animalistic side of me revel in getting the best of an enemy.

"_Gordon, this can go easily, or it can go very, very easily," _I told him in a low voice, projecting my thoughts so that all the wolves and the cats would hear – it took a bit of concentration on my part but I think I managed to pull it off. Most of my wolves were changed already anyway. _"I can let you go, and you'll get up, and you'll stand down and let Castiel and his cats leave, and we will have words later, or…I can snap your neck right here, right now." _There was a collective gasp (which I thought was a bit dramatic, considering) which I ignored. _"You have just tried to attack the Alpha's mate, and shed the Alpha's blood. Killing you would be a mercy I don't wish to give you. So…" _I clamped down with my jaws for a little extra incentive. _"What shall it be?"_

Now, Gordon is many things. He's a good hunter, a brilliant tracker and a good fighter. He's strong and he provides bulk and numbers when we're going up against an enemy, and he's practically fearless when we're in an army. But when it's just him with teeth at his neck and no one else to help him, he's a fucking coward. _"Please, Alpha, mercy," _he begged me, his black eyes blinking up at me, and I snarled, pulling up my injured foreleg. I dragged my claws down the side of his face, marking him for good measure, before climbing off of him. We were both bleeding heavily and I was breathing hard, my weakness from the disease and blood loss combining with lack of food (and Castiel's and my…exploits) to make me dizzy.

Still. I had a job to do. I turned to Castiel; _"For fuck's sake, _run," _I said to him; "Make sure Jo is okay."_

He nodded, dipping his head towards me before he nudged against my shoulder, then took his leave, the cats following behind. Sam ran forward at that point, a human, and I changed so that he could support me – I felt like I was going to collapse.

Again, I had a job to do. I let my little brother hold me up as one of his hands pressed against my stomach where two long jagged slashes lay, opening up deep enough to draw blood and see a bit of organs, and addressed the wolves; "Now you listen to me, all of you," I said, putting as much of the 'Alpha voice' into my tone as I could. A few of them, close to me, shivered at the sound of it. "If I hear of _any _kind of animosity towards the cats from here on out, that wolf will suffer severe consequences. If anyone attacks the Alpha cat, or his clan, then they will feel punishment at my hand." I looked to Gordon. "You."

He'd changed back into a human, and his eyes widened as he looked at me. Three thin lines ran down the side of his face and his nose and mouth was practically crushed from my jaws. He looked at me with fear in his eyes, knowing that if I ordered the pack now to rip him apart, they would without hesitation.

But I'm not a tyrant. I don't work like that. "You. Pack up your things. Gather your mate and children if you're selfish enough to take them down with you, and get off of my lands. I don't want to see you, hear about you, or catch a whiff of your scent on the wind for my natural life, or my descendant's natural lives. You are permanently exiled from my pack from this day onwards, do you understand me?" He swallowed, hatred burning in his eyes, but he wouldn't dare disobey me – he nodded. "We have enemies, everyone," I said, looking back towards the pack – I had to sum this up soon. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open and everything was blurry. "We are weak now. The disease has killed four of us and every winter we lose more. The cats are powerful allies, and the Alpha cat is my mate." Again, collective murmurings and gasps joined my statement – which was weird because I was beginning to think the entire freaking camp knew already – and I barreled right on through, intent on finishing before I blacked out. "Our betas are soon to be mated as well." I looked to Sammy for confirmation, and he nodded, lips set in a firm line. "Anyone with concerns and fears will let me know of it _before the cats arrive, _and if I hear of _anyone _acting towards them with anything other than kindness and hospitality, they shall suffer the same punishment as him." I pointed to Gordon, using the arm he'd bitten, and blood dripped down from it to stain the ground. "Let him be a lesson to all of you."

I closed my eyes, another wave of dizziness overcoming me, and Sam tightened his hold as I began to fall. "Take me to my tent, Sam," I murmured to him, unwilling to show weakness now, and he nodded, letting go of me so that it looked like I was walking on me own, when really he was always a step behind, waiting in case I needed help.

I made it to my tent and counted that as a small win. Collapsing on the furs, I finally whined in pain at the gashes on my stomach – they felt like fire on my skin, and Sam knelt down, pushing me onto my back so he could get a look.

"You're not a healer," I mumbled to him, already feeling like I was going to pass out.

"Gabriel taught me some things," he snapped in reply, gently slapping the side of my face. "Listen, Dean, you have to stay awake, you got that? Stay awake for me."

"So tired, Sammy…"

"I know. You have to

– hey, Dean! Listen to me.

Stay awake – no, Dean!

Come on, Dean.

Come on!

Stay awake.

Dean?

Dean!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Pr0ns?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

I'm back from Germany/Belgium/Luxembourg! YAY! And I'm writing again and I have a new idea for a knight!Dean story and it's going to be awesome and I can't wait, plus I was prompted for a hot tub scene involving Gabriel somehow so I'm excited for that, and I FINALLY finished my fucking drama essay so YAY. Things are looking up people. A plus? I LOVE this chapter :D

* * *

I hate taking naps in the middle of the day.

Seriously. I don't why, but it just seems that taking a two-hour nap makes you feel three times as shitty as you felt before you went to sleep, and you wake up feeling like crap with a bad taste in your mouth and sweat all over your body, because it's in the middle of the freaking _day _and it's hot outside, and tents don't have good air circulation sometimes.

There was a warm body next to me, and I frowned, trying to remember what had happened. "Cas?" I asked, and _wow, _was that my voice? I sounded like I'd been gargling rocks.

But no – it couldn't have been Castiel, because he'd left, because…Jo was having trouble. That's right, and I'd had to fight Gordon and tell the Pack where we all stood with each other, and I'd been injured and Sam was telling me to stay awake…

…_oh._

Well.

My bad.

I turned around to find…Sam. Okay, Sam, I could deal with that. I pushed myself up and hissed, pain lancing up my arms and around my stomach, and looked down. There were bandages around my torso, pretty much covering my stomach, with two thin lines of blood just seeping through. I pressed gingerly against them and the blood stains got a little larger. Shit – I was still bleeding. How long had I been out for?

There was a warm hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see Sam sitting up, his face a little too impassive to be good for me. I knew I was in trouble, and tried for the Devil-may-care smile, shrugging a little. "So…how're things?" I asked, and it sounded flat and awkward to my own ears.

Sam blinked at me, eyes dark and mouth set in a thin, hard line. "How're things?" he repeated in a flat voice that I knew meant he was just a tiny step away from a full-on freak out. "_How're things? _What part of _stay the fuck awake _do you not understand, Dean? I thought I'd lost you – I thought you'd died right in front of me. You were bleeding so fucking much and…" He was shaking. I tried to reach forward and touch him but he batted my hand away. "No! You inconsiderate asshole, why the _fuck _would you let him _gore _you like that? I could practically see your organs, Dean – you could have died and I wouldn't have been able to stop it!"

"Sammy, I –."

"No! Shut up, you hear me? Just fucking sit still and shut up." There were tears in his eyes and in his voice – he was inches away from a breakdown. He looked down, his hair hiding his face and I brushed it away. "You're just going to…" He growled, stopping his sentence mid-way, and then suddenly his arms were around me, pulling me to his chest. I let him, guilty over making him worry so much, and carded a hand through his hair as he shook against me. I shifted, sitting so that I was across his legs and he could hold me as close as he damn well pleased, because I know how I would be feeling if our positions were reversed – Sam is my closest family. My only family as wolves see it, even though Adam is still our brother. If I lost Sam…God, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'd sell my soul to keep him with me.

My shoulder was wet where he'd buried his face there, sobbing quietly against me, and I reached around awkwardly to hug him, wincing when the move made my stomach hurt and pulled at my wounds. I stroked through his hair, shushing him gently, my lips against his temple, eyes shut. He was warm, very warm, and it had been a long time since I'd felt needed by him like I did now. I held him just as close as he held me for a long time before the tent flap opened, and Gabriel and Castiel strode in.

I should have figured – Sam might have been taught a few things but he's no healer. We don't even have a _concept _of healers, very much, and Gabriel must have helped him if I was still breathing. The were-cats paused at the opening, unsure if they were interrupting, but I waved them in and they sat next to us. Gabriel's hand stroked along Sam's shoulder blade gently but he didn't say anything.

I looked to Castiel, who was staring at the bandage around my stomach like it was a poisonous snake, a mix of anger and relief in his eyes. "How's Jo and the baby?" I asked softly, breaking the silence, and Sam's arms tightened around me when I spoke. I felt him lift his head and try and wipe at his face, and kept petting his hair as I looked to Castiel.

"She's fine, as is her daughter. The baby is strong and once Jo gets some rest and nourishment she'll be fine too." His eyes finally met mine, and I was taken aback by the raw _rage _I saw in there. "I didn't hear about your little skirmish," he continued in a deadly calm tone, and now that I was paying attention I could hear how he talked through his clenched jaw, how his knuckles were white and his fists were clenched tightly enough to make the tendons stand out, where he rested his hands against his thighs, and I could see the tenseness of his shoulders, the violent energy just _waiting _for something to take it out on. "I wish I could hunt down the bastard that did this to you and rip his heart out and make him eat it."

"Cas!" I gasped, taken aback by just how angry he was – I was _fine. _I was alive. I'd _won. _He didn't need to worry about me. I reached for him, held back by my brother's arms, and just managed to brush my hand along the back of his. "No violence, alright? Eyes for eyes make us all blind."

"Still…"

"Tell you what – if he ever violates the terms of his exile, you get first round with him, okay?" I said, trying to calm him down, and though it didn't leave altogether some of the tenseness did seep from him, and he nodded with a wan little smile. "Better?" I asked, stroking down the side of his face and he leaned into my touch, just a little, before nodding again. "Good."

"The pack is in uproar," Sam muttered against my neck, and I turned just in time to see Castiel's eyes narrow when he looked at Sam – huh. Weird. "They all have questions, and they're all afraid. You're going to go out to a mob, Alpha."

"I can handle the mobs, Sammy."

"I'd rather you were inside, resting," he replied petulantly, and I chuckled a little, shaking my head. "I know it's not going to happen, but still."

"How long was I out for?" I asked, frowning a little and wondering just how long my pack had been dealing without me.

"Almost a day," Sam bit back, his arms tightening around me again, almost possessively. I could feel his teeth against my skin when he spoke; "You were out for a whole fucking _day, _you bastard. And I'm sorry -." I sat back, surprised, as he'd addressed the apology to Castiel; "I know he's your mate, and everything, and you're just as worried, but…_fuck, _I had to watch my brother practically bleed out, and…I just need to keep touching him, okay?"

"I was worried about him too, you know," Castiel replied tersely.

"You didn't even fucking _know _until a few hours ago," Sam growled, and I watched as Castiel's eyes darkened and he tensed, the anger returning.

I held a hand out to both of them, palm facing them. "Stop it, both of you," I snapped, threading just a little of the 'Alpha Voice' in there for incentive. Sam shivered against me. "I get it, okay? I do stupid shit and get in trouble for it but I'm _fine _now, okay? I'm living and breathing and talking and I'll sure as hell kick both your asses if you don't fucking _get along, _right now."

"Like you could, old man," Sam said teasingly, and I poke him in the gut.

"Shut up."

"Dean," Gabriel said, speaking up for the first time, and I looked towards the golden cat. "I'd like to change your bandages now, and then you can address your pack. You will need to – Sam wasn't exaggerating. There are a lot of issues that the _four _of us will need to solve before this move can go ahead." And if I didn't know any better I'd say there was some psychic connection going on between Gabriel and Castiel, because the Alpha cat was nodding before he'd even finished.

I nodded. "Okay." There was a pause as I tried to escape my brother's limpet hold. "Um…Sammy, you're going to have to let go," I said gently, placing a light kiss to his temple, and he sighed, releasing me. I hissed as blood flow came back to my legs. "Alright, healer, how do you want me?"

Gabriel smirked, cocking his head to one side, and Sam nudged him; "Perv," he said affectionately, and it took me a moment to realize what I'd said – _oh. _Awkward. I added my sentiment to the pile before Gabriel gestured me to lay on my back on a thick bear pelt that was in against a wall of my tent, and then left to get his medical supplies for changing the bandages.

There was a moment's silence before Castiel stood, looking between me and Sam for a moment, and then I watched as he went and crouched in front of my brother, framing his face in his hands. "I'm sorry for my behavior," he said, almost too gently for me to hear. "I know he is your brother, and I know that wolves are closer to their families than my people are. I hope that it is one of the things you can teach us – to have strong ties – and I apologize if I offended you in any way."

It was a pretty good apology, as apologies went, and Sam flushed in shame, biting his lip as he looked down. I knew how he felt – Castiel's gaze was like a challenge to beat and something that you couldn't keep at the same time. It penetrated; it went too deep and seemed to see everything you wanted to hide. It was a hard thing to get used to.

"I'm…sorry for my rashness, as well," Sam replied, trying to copy Castiel's formal speech and failing, and I smiled, biting my lip to stop myself making a sound and letting them know I was paying attention. Sam stood up, forcing Castiel to drop his hands, and offered the were-cat a smile. "Take care of my brother, you got me?"

"Take care of mine," Castiel returned, standing up as well, and the height difference was comedic. I couldn't imagine how Sam and Gabriel…maneuvered.

Eww. Mental Image. Erasing now.

Gabriel came back into the tent carrying a bag slung over one shoulder, the same shoulder his toga-like clothes rested on, heavy against his side. It made dull clinks when he moved like there were tiny mental objects rattling around in there, and it made me uneasy. Castiel watched from a distance but I kind of wanted him to be there – which is stupid, 'cause it's not like I was going to die or anything – I'd just never had such an up-close encounter with Gabriel and, to be honest, he kind of threw me off balance. I could never tell what he was thinking.

The healer knelt down next to me and brought out a long, thin blade, and leant forward. "Suck in a breath," he told me, and I obeyed before he dug his fingers under the tight bandaging and threaded the blade under that too, cutting the bandaging off smoothly. My skin was red and indented where the folds of the bandage had been, and I scratched absently at my side before he swatted my hands away. "Don't touch. Don't move."

Castiel sucked in a breath, his eyes wide, and I propped myself up to get a look at my stomach.

…_Shit. _I could see why Sam freaked out.

There were three long slashes against my stomach, running from just above the jut of my left hip, and curving to end at my side, just before the bite in my side that Castiel had dealt me a few days before, when he'd actually _bitten _me. The one furthest away from my head was small and thin and already scabbing over, but the other two still bled, blood welling up sluggishly around the sides.

Gabriel pulled out a jar of thick purple-brown…goo, really. Kind of liquid but not, and opened it, and the tent was filled with the smell of lavender and honey. The smell was a lot more pleasant than the feel as he scooped some onto his fingers and carefully painted around the edges of my wounds, careful not to get any excess around them or any actually inside the cut. I tried holding my breath, afraid to move when he was working in case I screwed up his designs, and took my breaths whenever he went to put more of the stuff on his fingers.

"What does that do?" I asked when he'd finished, closing the jar and wiping his fingers on his clothing. I wondered how often he had to wash his clothes with all the medicines he must wipe on them.

He shrugged a little, pursing his lips as he rummaged around for more things in his bag, and pulled out a long pine needle and some thinly-woven thread. "It's to keep out infection, but it's poisonous to the bloodstream. If I little got in there you'd be okay but we don't want to chance it, so I have to sew up the wounds now, at least where it's still bleeding. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but your blood is very thin. I'd recommend you eat as many green, leafy vegetables as you can until you're healed – it'll thicken your blood and stop you bleeding as much."

I nodded, not relishing the idea of going on an all-vegetable diet, but if it meant I'd get batter faster, then I'd do it. I hissed when Gabriel threaded the needle and began to sew my wounds shut, little pinpricks of blood welling up around the needle as it dug into my skin. _Fuck, _that hurt. I let my head and shoulders drop back down against the fur, willing to wait until he finished because it felt like Hell trying to keep myself supported.

"How are the children doing?" I asked while he worked, uneasy with the silence.

"They've all made a full recovery," Gabriel said, and I could hear a smile in his voice. "It's gone a long way to calming the wolves' fears, but there are still the parents who lost their children." I sighed, thinking of Max's parents, and Jake's and Jesse's. I didn't want to deal with that. "I've done my best counseling them, and I think they at least trust me – they like talking about it, it seems, and you have a strong community here. I think they'll be fine."

"Yeah," I replied weakly, at a loss of what else to say. Finally, Gabriel was done sewing me up, and he pulled out a fresh roll of bandaging to wrap around me. He told me to sit up and I did, just watching Castiel as Gabriel wrapped the bandages around me until it felt a little awkward to try and expand my lungs, but it would hopefully do the trick. I thanked Gabriel and he left, smiling a little with one last look to his brother, and then Castiel was next to me, pulling me close. "I'm sorry, Cas," I said before he could say anything, and he shook his head; I felt his hair brush against my face.

"You are a stupid wolf," he said, long-sufferingly, and I chuckled a little, the sound coming out strained because I couldn't really breathe due to the bandages. He just clung tighter to me, and I sighed, pushing him away.

"You listen to me, Cas," I told him, holding his face so he couldn't break my gaze – not that he would; he's a freaking marathon gazer – "I'm right here." I took his hand and splayed it across my heart, closing my eyes and knowing he felt my heartbeat. "I'm alive, warm, right next to you." I opened my eyes again, saw him watching his hand, and then pushed at him, manhandling him until he was lying down and I was hovering over him, feeling stronger than I had in a while.

I leaned down, inhaling his scent, burying my nose in his hair, and one of my hands pinned his arm down, the other still holding his head so he couldn't move much, and felt him relax underneath me. "Nothing happened," I told him, shutting off his protest with a chaste kiss on his mouth; "I'm alive, and I'm awake, okay?" I deepened the kiss, surprised that he continued to submit to me, opening his mouth and letting me claim him like he'd always been so quick to claim me. I realized, suddenly, that in the time we'd been together, I'd never taken care of him. I hadn't one licked his wounds or made him feel good without reciprocation, and I'd never just…made him feel loved. Wanted. The guilt at that burned in my throat, and I whined as I kissed him, petting through his hair and keeping it away from his face. He tasted like fresh meat – he must have eaten recently – and water, and like he always did, his scent of fresh rains and oceans filling the tent as he purred, baring his throat to me when I pulled away from his lips and started to make my way down.

I paused, there, shaking with the possibilities. Would he let me bite him? I pressed my lips to his pulse, testing, and he didn't move; his body was trembling very slightly, his heartbeat going a mile a minute and I licked along his skin, slightly tangy with salt and the scent of the forest. "I love you, Castiel, and I'm not going anywhere, you hear me?" I waited until he nodded, and then bit down.

His skin parted easily under my bite, jagged canines slicing through the layers until I reached his vein. He shuddered underneath me, grabbing at my head, but whether it was to pull me away or keep me close I couldn't tell. I suddenly understood why he kept biting me after giving me the permanent mating mark – his scent was heavenly, but his blood was _glorious._ Now, werewolves are by no means vampires, but we do drink the blood and eat the blood-rich organs of our prey, as it keeps us strong and is full of nourishment for a growing wolf, so we do like the taste of it.

_Castiel's _blood was the best fucking thing I'd ever tasted, human food or otherwise. I moaned into his skin, feeling the blood well up and spill around my lips and down his shoulder, staining that stupid toga-thing he wore. I shifted my position, getting a better angle for the bite, and I swear; it was like sex. When my tongue crept it, swiping along his pulse and feeling the taste of his blood explode across my mouth, we moaned in unison, and Castiel's warm body arched up against mine. The hand that wasn't keeping my weight off of his let go of his arm and grabbed onto his thigh instead, running up his skin and taking his clothing with it so that I could wrap my hand around his cock, jerking him slowly while I bit him.

I didn't sever an artery – I took a vein on purpose – so that I could take my sweet damn time about it. Castiel was mewling against me, making the most delicious, helpless little sounds as he clutched at me desperately, hissing and purring and _arching _and shaking and the power high was more than a little addictive.

We don't drink blood when we bite – cats might, but wolves don't. Still, I allowed myself a little more of his taste before withdrawing my teeth, and though I was careful I couldn't stop myself catching his flesh a little on the retreat, tearing it just that little bit more open. Castiel made a sound I'd never heard from him before – I imagine it was the cat version of when a wolf howls – and he was writhing underneath me, pinned down by my body as I quickened my hand's pace, twisting at the head, and I was too tired to do more than that, panting against his still-bleeding neck as he stilled, and came with a long shudder and moan.

I listened to his heartbeat fly against my mouth as we both came down. I felt like I _had _orgasmed from that, just listening and _tasting _Castiel, and then I sluggishly moved down, peeling the rest of his clothing from his body and licking away the sweat, blood and come, listening to him recover and smiling whenever my tongue made him shiver.

When I met him in another lazy kiss, I felt his arm move and pulled away to see him feeling against the bite, a strange expression on his face that I couldn't decipher. I really hoped I hadn't fucked up here.

"Are you alright?" I asked, brushing his sweat-dampened hair away from his face, and he smiled, blushing slightly – freaking _blushing, _and I'd never made him do that before.

He nodded, pulling my head down for another slow kiss that tasted of his blood and his come and his sweat and _him, _and I mewled quietly into it; "I'm better than alright, Dean. You're right." His hand moved, and splayed across my heart, fingertips coated in his blood; "You're alive, and you're here, and you're _mine."_

I smiled. "And you're mine."

There was a pause where Castiel considered, and then he nodded, and smiled, and the world faded away into another long, lazy kiss, before all the drama had to start again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Pr0ns? Gabriel OOCness because he's not like on the show? *winces*

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I walked out into the midmorning sun, Castiel trailing close behind. My pack was already out, gathered in the center of the camp in an uneasy mob, and I sighed, preparing myself for a lot of questions. Lots and lots of questions. Wolves always want to know things – they don't like being kept out of the loop and with such close ties to each other that hardly ever happens. All the secrecy of the were-cats must be driving them insane.

It hurt to walk. The ligaments in my arm had almost been torn clean apart by Gordon's bite and it was painful and hard to move my hand more than a little bit. Gabriel had come back and bandaged it, splinting my wrist but really beyond surgery there wasn't anything he could do, and it was hard to breathe around the bandages, but between the disease and then fighting Gordon and getting injured, I had neglected my pack long enough. It was time to just talk things out.

Castiel hovered on the outskirts, uneasy as I walked into the middle of them. Several wolves reached out and touched me, brushing my bitten shoulder or over the edge of my bandages and I found myself relaxing, identifying each and every scent that made up my pack, missing those that I couldn't find anymore. Wouldn't find again.

The children were at the front of group and they smiled when they saw me. Lilly jumped up and hugged me tightly, burying her face into my neck and I smiled, wrapping my arms around her tightly as we hugged. God, but it felt good to see her healthy again.

"Hey there, sweetheart," I said, stroking a hand down her back.

She tightened her grip. "I was worried about you, Alpha. The rumors were terrible – by the end of them you were half-gored and barely able to speak." I chuckled, planting a kiss to the top of her head before I let her go. The mob of my pack was deadly silent and I sought out Sam, Castiel and Gabriel and gestured them to come join me. Gabriel was the only were-cat that had integrated himself into the mass of wolves, sitting next to Sam and surrounded by the parents of the children that had died. It lightened my heart a little to see how close he already was – he was a good Beta, a good conduit to help smooth things over before the alliance was officially in place.

Castiel practically stalked up to me, eyeing the small space between me and the pack as though expecting to be attacked. He'd covered himself again with his clan's usual garb but the shoulder-part didn't cover the bite I'd given him. I'd done that on purpose, of course, and an uneasy whispering went through the wolves as they saw the mark, dark and fresh on his skin.

I ran a hand through his hair gently, coaxing him closer to me and he came to stand next to me, turned away from the wolves slightly. It took me a moment to realize he was nervous, defensive. I'd never seen him nervous before. But then again…these weren't _his _people. He had no authority here. Not yet.

I could relate – I knew how terrifying that was.

Unable to help myself, I nuzzled into the bite I'd given him, I'm sure erasing any shadow of doubt from the wolves' minds – as if my declaration and his bite weren't enough – and Castiel shivered. He seemed torn between leaning into the touch and stepping away from it, and I sighed – he'd have to get used to the PDA's because I probably wouldn't be able to keep my hands to myself. Sam neither with Gabriel.

The members of Castiel's clan that had returned with him were like a dark shadow on the edge of the pack, watching me with narrowed eyes.

The thing is…this is complicated. When an Alpha takes a mate it is expected that the lines and roles are clearly defined – in other words, the Alpha does _not _submit. Packs and clans are dictatorships masquerading as democracies, but I did try as an Alpha to include anyone. When the packs united, it would be hard to establish a leading role again. Castiel would be _their _Alpha, I would be my pack's and it will be difficult for one side to listen to the other's orders. The way I submit to Castiel eagerly could be seen as weakness from the wolves that the cats might feel compelled to take advantage of. The same with the Beta level – I didn't know who led in the relationship between Sam and Gabriel, but if Gabriel _and _Castiel were the clearer dominants then it might feel like the cats are just taking us over.

The uniting will have to handled very delicately.

I drew away from Castiel, letting him go, and then pulled him down to sit next to me, crossing my legs as I faced my pack. I liked facing them on the same level. Sam and Gabriel materialized from the rest of the pack, sitting on my other side. I fought back a smile when Gabriel very easily just slid into Sam's lap, using his chest as something to lean his back against, Sam's hands resting around his body. I shook my head a little, wishing it could be that casual for Castiel and me, but we didn't have that luxury.

It was silent as I watched the members of my pack, watched them watching us, and then took a breath. "I know you all have questions," I said softly, knowing I didn't have to raise my voice – you could hear a pin drop in the stillness. "And I want to be able to answer them all. I want you all to be completely okay with this before it starts happening. I do _not _want a repeat of yesterday, does everyone understand that?"

There were scattered nods. "Alpha, what exactly _is _happening?" came a voice from my left, and I turned my head.

"Castiel is the Alpha of his clan," I began, unconsciously seeking out Castiel's touch and finding a neutral grip on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. I heard him purr very softly next to me. "And food grows scarce in his country. He has proposed sharing space with us for a while. An alliance, if you will – we have enemies, and having greater numbers will make it less likely for us to get attacked." I looked around again, seeing a few more scattered nods and was glad that at least a few wolves seemed to agree with me. "Our attempts at mending the divide between our people has made us unpopular, but if we can pull this off – if we can lead by example and create a harmonious community…The results could be revolutionary." I smiled just thinking about it.

"Are you both mated?" came another voice.

The four of us nodded. There was a brief uneasy stirring in the wolves again, but no one said anything. I knew that silence – it's the silence of everyone thinking the same thing, but no one being brave enough to say it.

"Ask, wolves," I murmured to them, taking my hand off of Castiel, looking them in the eye. "This is a safe place, I promise you."

Wolves think about the future. It's something we always had to do, from migration to food sources because if you didn't think about these things then one day you wouldn't have anything to think about anymore. The cats didn't think like that – they were about instant gratification, which was fine in small doses, but it meant wolves had concerns that cats didn't. Thought about things cats didn't.

"…Alpha, what will this mean for your bloodline?" Lilly asked after a long moment, becoming unofficial spokesperson for the pack. She looked like she wanted to shrink into a tiny ball when I turned to look at her.

Castiel stiffened beside me, and I had to think about that for a moment. Of course, without Sam or I producing heirs, the wolf bloodline would die out. The cats _would _control the land after we died. "I…don't know," I answered honestly, looking at Sam who had an equally blank face. Gabriel didn't look concerned, and I wondered if that was because cats didn't place such a high priority for keeping the same bloodline in their leaders, or if he already had a plan. He had that kind of calculating look in his eyes that meant he was thinking. "I honestly can't answer that, Lilly, but I will give it thought, I promise you."

"When will this movement begin?"

"It already has," Castiel answered, speaking for the first time. His bright blue eyes were zeroed in on the wolf that had spoken, intense as only he could pull off. "Already some of my cats have been living among you, as well you know, and when one of my clan members who has recently given birth recovers, the rest of the clan will be traveling to us soon enough."

"I encourage you to interact with each other. This will never work if we can't learn to get along – if we can't learn to trust each other, at the very least," I insisted, because I didn't want this to _not _happen. I didn't want the move to go ahead and then just have two communities living close, strangers to each other, not moving forward and sitting like stagnant water.

"We don't bite," Gabriel said, a little smile on his face. "Unless you ask real nicely."

The parents of the children who'd died, who had gathered around Gabriel and who he'd said he'd been talking to, chuckled lightly, as did a few other wolves. I felt a little knot in my chest loosen.

"I also encourage my cats to interact," Castiel said, flashing his eyes towards his clan members who still hovered on the borders. "If they are anything like me, then envy this closeness that you wolves all share, and are intrigued by you. Cats don't…interact like wolves do, and it's interesting, and new, and I think cats could benefit from living among you." I knew he was talking to his clan mostly, but the wolves were nodding as well. I sighed.

"Does anyone else have any more concerns?" I asked, feeling a little lightheaded again. I was exhausted and I could feel the bandages beginning to itch, the gauze around my arm getting wet from where Gabriel couldn't staunch the bleeding well enough. I was starving, too.

There was nothing, and I nodded again. "Good." I stood up, swaying a little but Castiel was there immediately, supporting me with a light touch under the arm, and I steadied myself. "We are expecting the cats in a few days. Sam and Gabriel will organize a team of you to build extra dwellings for them, and Adam will lead a hunting party so that our stores do not run dry. I expect my wolves to treat Gabriel and Castiel as though they are their own Alpha and Beta, am I understood? As far as I'm concerned, Castiel can speak for me, and Gabriel can speak for Sam." Sam nodded as he dislodged a reluctant and disgruntled Gabriel, standing also.

"Yes Alpha," the wolves chorused, then began to disperse. I sighed, leaning more of my weight onto Castiel, who pulled me closer to him so that he could support me more easily. I wanted to go back to sleep – really, really badly, or at least eat something. I felt exhausted and filled with nervous energy at the same time and there was something I needed to take care of before I let myself indulge either part.

I drew away from Castiel again, determined to walk on my own because I couldn't show weakness now – not when everything was so delicate. He fixed me with a look but I ignored it, going towards the only permanent building in the camp, the place where we'd kept the children while they were sick and the place I wanted to see burn to the ground.

The place was remarkably easy to set on fire – I had a feeling wolves had been preparing to burn it down before the meeting was called, and I watched as the flames licked up the side of the building, devouring it. Castiel stood at my shoulder, joining me and watching the building as though he also took a particular satisfaction it watching it turn to ashes. I felt a little better as I watched it turn into just a black hole, the roof falling in with a spark of flames and flash of flying embers. It took three hours for the whole building to burn to the ground, and then I dumped water on the ashes because it would just be freaking brilliant if I accidentally set the forest on fire or something stupid like that.

When Castiel walked with me back to the tent, we were both tense, and I couldn't figure out why. Castiel seemed…angry with me, and I wasn't sure what it was I'd said – or maybe he was still pissed about me fighting, or running into the quarantine zone (which, if that was the case, I just needed him to get the fuck over it already).

"What did I do?" I asked him when we were inside my tent and sat down, not looking at me. When I tried to reach forward and touched him he turned his head away, and his rejection stung. "Cas, what did I do?"

Castiel's jaw clenched as he dipped his head, absently playing with a loose thread of his clothing. "You didn't do anything. It's not your fault."

"_What, _then? Cas, you're scaring me. Just talk to me," I demanded gently, running my hand down the side of his face, cupping his jaw, down over his bite. He shivered wherever I touched him. "Please, just talk to me." I'd never been one for the deep emotional talks, but it seemed easy with Castiel. Maybe it was the fact that he was my mate, or maybe it was because he was, if possible, even more reticent than me, but talking came easy to me when I was with him.

"I'm just…" He took a deep breath, exhaling shakily. "I'm sorry I can't give you heirs. If you need to turn to someone else to continue your line then I have no argument for it." It sounded like he was pulling teeth, his voice was so tight, jaw clenched tight enough that I could hear his teeth grinding together.

I was shocked, to say the least. "You think I…?" I shook my head. "_Cas." _He looked up at his name, eyes impossibly bright and I shifted closer, pulling him to me with my injured arm, burying my face in his neck as I inhaled at his scent, smelled his anxiety, so strong I could taste it. "You are everything I could ever want. My bloodline is not nearly as important as what I have with you."

"Bullshit," Castiel breathed, sounding close to breaking down as he gripped at my body as though I would slip away from him. His heartbeat was heavy and rapid against my mouth underneath my bite and I nuzzled into it. "Wolves need heirs. Alphas need other Alphas to carry on after them."

"Then we can get a surrogate, or Adam can mate and become the father of the next Alpha. I don't care," I growled, petting through his hair, tilting his head away from me so I could get at his throat more obviously, shifting even closer until there didn't seem to be even room for air between us. "_You _are my mate, and I don't want another just for the sake of breeding. I'm not like that, Cas." It actually kind of hurt that he would think that of me, that I would just fuck someone else for the sake of a baby. "I can't believe you would think that."

"I'm sorry, Dean," Castiel breathed in reply, shaking his head, not fighting my hold as I bit down into his neck again, staking my claim all over again. I kind of wanted to hurt him – violence seemed to be the only thing he understood. It's how he drove his points home. But I wouldn't do that to him – I'm not like that. I licked at the small amount of blood my bite had brought to the surface. "It's just how Alphas think."

"Not this one," I growled in reply, pushing away from him. Or I tried to – his hold was strong and I was too tired to fight much. "Let's just go back out – the pack needs us."

"You need to rest, Dean."

"Fuck you," I growled, pushing at him arms until he let go. It was stupid and irrational but I was just pissed at him – angry that he didn't trust me, that he doubted my loyalty even now. _Hello, _I'm a fucking _dog. _Loyalty's pretty much all we got. "Just…fuck you, Castiel."

"Dean -."

But I was already gone, blocking him out. I was finding it hard to breathe – I wanted to run, but the bandages around my chest were tight enough that I didn't know what would happen if I went wolf, so I just walked, to check on the tents or how the hunting party were getting on or _something. _And I found myself outside Lisa's tent.

"Can I…come in?" I asked hesitantly, and she smiled, welcoming and warm as always. I felt myself relaxing already.

"Of course, Alpha."

* * *

_**Sam/Gabriel timestamp. Takes place around the time Dean is burning down the quarantine building. Outsider POV.**_

Sam was sprawled out comfortably in his tent, resting after several hours of building temporary dwellings for the new cats that would be coming along, until they could manage something a little more permanent, a little more like what the wolves lived in. He stretched, muscles in his arms and legs burning as he arched and relaxed into the pile of furs that made his bed, long body spread out over the thick pelts.

It was quite a sight for Gabriel to come home to. The were-cat paused for a moment at the entrance to Sam's tent, indulging himself for a moment as his golden eyes roved greedily over Sam's tan, muscular body, all tempting lines and power stretched and compacted into a fucking _glorious _body. The tent filled with pheromones as Gabriel kept watching Sam until the werewolf couldn't even pretend to not know he was there, blinking one slitted hazel eye open towards Gabriel.

He smiled, stretching again, his back arching up like a lazy, contented cat, and Gabriel's breath left him in a huge gust, because Sam was displaying himself like a Queen in heat, muscles playing over his broad back and straining his arms and legs where he was bearing his weight, legs spread slightly for balance and long, thick cock hanging down underneath him, half-hard already.

Gabriel stalked forward like a predator, shedding his clothing as he walked until he was behind his little tease of a mate, reaching out to touch because Sam had never been so brazen with him. Gabriel was allowed to look, to touch on occasion, but they hadn't _done _anything yet. Sam had insisted that Dean and Castiel go public and establish their relationship before anything was to happen between Sam and Gabriel.

Sam laid back down at the first touch of Gabriel's hand, rolling over onto his back as Gabriel perched himself slightly off to one side, excited but unwilling to overstep his welcome. The werewolf smiled up at him, arching his back a little more in the struggle to get comfortable, and his warm, large palm settled on Gabriel's thigh, trailing upwards towards the were-cat's hard need, the back of his hand brushing against the head and shaft as he moved.

Gabriel shuddered again, a heavy growl in his breath. "Sammy," he purred, head falling back as Sam wrapped his huge hand around him, dry heat against Gabriel's slightly damp skin, covered in a fine sheen of sweat already. "_Shit_…Sam…you ready for this, baby?"

Sam rumbled his assent, sitting up and pushing the were-cat into his place, on his stomach on the pile of furs. "Fuck yeah I'm ready," he growled, plastering himself over Gabriel's body. There wasn't an inch of the were-cat that wasn't covered by Sam's large, muscular frame, and the werewolf's strong heartbeat rocked against Gabriel's back.

Sam fisted a hand in Gabriel's hair, pushing the were-cat's head to one side, and Gabriel moaned when Sam's lips came in contact with his neck, the taller man practically molding over him, his cock easily riding the valley of Gabriel's ass, _so _close…Gabriel pushed up onto his knees, Sam's heavy weight keeping him down, as he bucked back against the werewolf, and Sam let out a strangled gasp at Gabriel's willingness, eagerness.

"_Fuck," _he growled, wrapping an arm around Gabriel, his fingers putting pressure on the were-cat's lower lip and hissing when Gabriel opened his mouth, letting his fingers slip inside. "So fucking beautiful, Gabe." The were-cat moaned around his mouthful, eyes sliding closed as Sam rolled against him, so heavy and hot, their bodies slicking together from sweat. Pheromones permeated every surface until the tent was suffocating with them, too much teasing and sexual tension melting away in this glorious moment where it all came together.

Sam kissed and nipped at Gabriel's neck, so close to claiming the were-cat, his teeth almost catching on the tendon in Gabriel's neck and the were-cat whined, baring his throat, encouraging Sammy to just _bite _him already, and Sam's fingers slipped from his mouth, dragging down his flank as Sam shifted, making room for his fingers to begin working Gabriel open.

"Sammy…_fuck, _please," Gabriel growl-whined as one of Sam's thick fingers breached him, too fast to be entirely comfortable but Sam's mouth kept doing _things _to him that honestly made the stretch and burn seem like background noise. "Fuck, Sammy, bite me! Come on!"

Sam's breath caught, seeing Gabriel so wanton, begging for it, begging for _him, _and he moaned against the salty skin of Gabriel's neck, breathing in his scent. His finger worked Gabriel open slowly, twisting and dragging along Gabriel's inside, trying to find that one little spot that…- there! Gabriel yowled practically, body bowing as Sam's finger caught his prostate at the same time the werewolf's teeth sheathed themselves in his neck.

Gabriel practically melted, his body tense but pliant at the same time as Sam gently rocked his finger into Gabriel's ass, twisting and stretching and _dragging_ at the same time Sam tore at him with his teeth, finding the vein easily and biting down hard enough that iron-rich blood flooded his mouth. He moaned, biting down harshly, more-so than strictly necessary as he fucked Gabriel with his finger, one becoming two when it felt like the were-cat was ready. Gabriel was shaking, coming apart at the seams, his left arm stained with his blood and tearing holes in the fur by the time Sam was done teasing, and pulled his fingers out of him.

The were-cat braced himself when the head of Sam's thick, hard cock slid into him, past the first tight ring of muscle. He whined, feeling like it was too much, because Sam was _big _and he was…well…_not, _and he felt the proportion difference acutely. He clenched around Sam tightly, reflexively trying to force the intrusion away, but Sam held firm, breathing heavily through his nose as he had yet to take his mouth away from Gabriel's neck, but his hands soothed the were-cat's panting chest and shaking flanks, petting him until Gabriel felt like he could take more, and relaxed. Sam was gentle about it, soothing whenever Gabriel gave a whine that was too much pain for his liking, and the werewolf himself was trembling as Gabriel fit around him like a glove that was one size too small, so fucking hot and tight and perfect, his insides trying to force him deeper even though he wasn't ready for it yet.

Sam drew his mouth away when he bottomed out, panting into Gabriel's ear as he rested, just trying to catch his breath, to stay in control. _Fuck, _but Gabriel was tight and he smelled so _good, _and his blood was settling warm and wet in Sam's mouth, down his throat like honey and he groaned as Gabriel gave an experimental rock, forcing Sam just that little bit deeper.

"'Bout fucking time, Sammy boy," Gabriel muttered with a shaky laugh, turning his head to catch Sam's eye, and the werewolf leaned forward, taking his lover's chin in his hand and kissing Gabriel, devouring him like a starving man, and began to thrust. Gabriel moaned, arching, encouraging him, mewling at every spit-slick drive of Sam's cock into his ass, crying out whenever the werewolf jabbed brutally, precisely, into his prostate. "Fuck, Sammy, _please…" _Strung out as he was, he couldn't reach underneath himself to jack himself off, to give that little extra spike of pleasure that would send him shooting over the edge.

"Like this, Gabe?" Sam panted into the kiss, now biting more than actual kissing until Gabriel's lips were swollen and red, body flushed and quivering. "Like feeling me, deep inside of you, knowing you can't do a fucking _thing _about getting off until I let you? Hmm?" Gabriel's answering wanton moan gave him his answer. "Like that I'm heavy enough to hold you down, pin you so you can't move until _I _let you?"

The were-cat mewled again, and Sam laughed. "Kinky son of a bitch."

"You love it," Gabriel answered, smiling against Sam's jaw as his mate picked up the pace, breathing hard, burying his face in Gabriel's bitten throat. "Come on, Sammy – fill me up. Mark me."

That was all it took. Sam stilled with a heavy whine, his hands almost savage in Gabriel's body as he held his trembling mate still and came. Gabriel closed his eyes as he felt Sam's cock thicken before his insides were filled with warm come and he sighed, stretching out his arms in front of him contentedly, practically purring in self-satisfaction.

When Sam pulled out, he rolled over and gave a choked off little whine when the werewolf leaned down, taking him throat deep immediately. Over stimulated, so close to that edge already, Gabriel didn't stand a chance. He tangled his fingers in his mate's stupidly fluffy hair and whimpered as he came into Sam's mouth, again when he felt Sam's throat muscles working and realized Sam was swallowing him. All of him.

"_God, _Sammy," Gabriel groaned, arching up very slightly when Sam pulled off with a wet 'pop', smirking in a very self-satisfied way.

"That good, huh?" Sam asked, trailing the fingers of one hand over Gabriel's chest to splay over the were-cat's thundering heart. He smiled at Gabriel, leaning down to seal their lips together and the were-cat moaned at the taste of himself, carding his fingers through Sam's shaggy hair gently. After a while of lazy kissing, Sam pulled away. "You still need to bite me," he said, his voice low, rough and fucked-out.

Just like that. Zero to blindingly hard again in seconds, and Gabriel wasn't exactly a teenager anymore. He hissed lightly, hating how much Sam affected him at the same time as he reveled in it, and sat up, contemplating his mate when Sam bared his throat for him.

Gabriel shook his head; he didn't want to do it at Sam's neck. That came a-dime-a-dozen; everyone mated had a bite on their neck, practically. Gabriel wanted to be a bit more private about it – something no one else would see at first glance, but he would know it's there, could look at it and the werewolf would blush, knowing exactly what Gabriel was thinking about.

The were-cat pushed at his lover, letting Sam lay out on his bed of pelts. Sam smiled, going willingly, stretching his body out for Gabriel and giving him a bit of a show. The were-cat's eyes took in his lover, looked over Sam's perfect body and contemplated where exactly he could add his touch. His hands came forward, exploring the soft divots and harder flex when Sam moved underneath him, leaning into the touch or shying away in equal measure when Gabriel found a sensitive spot, ticklish. Sam mewled when Gabriel's lips followed his hands, laving at Sam's chest with a talented tongue, flicking over a nipple as he continued to map out every part of his young, responsive mate, to land on a place that felt right for his mark.

He found it. Right between the jut of Sam's hip and the teasing, slanting 'V' that was cut from the muscles in his abdomen. Gabriel grinned against the soft part of skin below the bone, licking at the tangy, salty flavor for a long moment, before he bared his teeth and sank them into Sam's body, laying his claim after, in his opinion, too long waiting.

Sam howled for him, arching up into the bite with a desperate gasp, eyes clenched tightly shut at the pleasure-pain of it. Gabriel chuckled, the bastard, and sank his teeth in deeper, tongue opening the wound a little more as he drank down some of it, eyes falling shut as he moaned at the taste. His hand reached up, catching Sam's and locking their fingers together, and he opened his eyes to meet Sam's, and smiled as he withdrew his teeth, licking at the bite he'd left behind.

"_Mine," _he growled against Sam's lips as he practically pounced on his lover, claiming Sam's mouth in a kiss that tasted of blood and come, and Sam laughed into the kiss, ruining it with his smile. He didn't reply, but when Gabriel reached down to trace around the fresh bite wound, he shivered and returned the favor, reopening the mark on Gabriel's neck, and the were-cat figured that was confirmation enough.


	13. Chapter 13

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean and Sam are captured by an enemy were-cat colony where the Alpha and Beta start giving them unwanted attentions.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Pr0ns? Gabriel OOCness because he's not like on the show? *winces*

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I didn't know what to say to her, really – all I knew is that I just needed someone to talk to and Lisa had always been one of those people that I felt like I could talk to. I had a feeling that even if I showed up at her tent completely trashed and out of my mind she would still be there to comfort me and take care of me. After we broke up I had refused to let it get awkward, to let any affection I felt for her fade even a little, and her presence was like liquid warmth, like comfort. Not as strong as Sammy's but damn near close.

I sat across from her, hands in my lap and I couldn't meet her eyes. My mind was in a whirl and I didn't want to say or do anything I'd regret later.

Finally she sighed, smiling a little; "Talk to me, Alpha; I can smell your anxiety a mile off."

I grinned back at her sardonically. "Am I that obvious?"

She leaned forward. "When you are upset, Dean, the whole pack feels it," she said with a slight furrow in her brow, concern in her dark eyes. "It hangs like a bad taste in the mouth, and we try and fix it but we can't if you don't let us. So talk to me. Let me try."

"I don't know how to fix it. I don't know why I'm angry," I said, rubbing my face as I sighed tiredly into my palm. "I just overreacted and it's stupid. It's a stupid thing."

"That you're obviously still upset about. What was it?" Lisa pressed gently, scooting a little closer to me and wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"I…" God, I didn't want to think about it. Every time I did I felt rage, anger and betrayal and I didn't want to think like that, become embittered towards Castiel. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Yes you do."

I sighed again, and cursed my inability to ever tell Lisa to just fuck off. "Castiel was just…upset over the whole heirs thing. He said I could sleep around if it meant continuing my line."

"Really?" she asked, sounding shocked, and I took my hand away to meet her eyes. They were wide with disbelief and still dark with concern.

"Well," I relented, "not quite in those words. But basically…God, it just pisses me off." I looked away from her, back in the general direction of my tent. "He's always been like that – always thinking I'm just gonna up and leave him, and it's starting to grate on my nerves."

Lisa cocked her head to one side, long raven hair falling over her shoulder. "I think you should talk about that with him," she said slowly. "Your communication skills seem to be sorely lacking – misunderstandings are mostly innocent, you know. Maybe he just has a different way of thinking about things and to avoid shit like this in the future you just need to talk it out."

"That's what I'm afraid of," I replied softly; "that he thinks a different way. What if how he thinks is wrong to me, or I don't like it? What if it's wrong, to me? What if he thinks the same way about how I feel?"

"Then at least you can try and talk around it, and compromise with each other." She smiled down at me, cupping my cheek with her hand. "You're a smart man, Dean. You'll figure it out."

Lisa wasn't much older than me – two years at most – but being a single parent had aged her, made her wise beyond her years, and I was suddenly so grateful to have her as a friend and confidante. "Thanks, Lisa," I said, mirroring her pose so that I could rest our foreheads together, and her tent flap opened.

I turned, smelling Adam, and he smiled at me when our eyes met, holding some recently cooked meat in one hand and what looked suspiciously like lettuce in the other. My stomach growled on cue, reminding me of how hungry I was. Behind Adam were a couple cats and wolves, and I recognized Anna among the group. She was watching me with narrowed, distrusting eyes, and I swallowed back the instinctual guilt because usually when people looked at me like that it meant I'd just fucked up royally, but I hadn't done anything _wrong, _so there was no reason for her to be staring at me like that.

Adam walked forward and the flap closed, cutting off their gazes. He handed the meat to Lisa and the vegetables to me. "Doctor's orders," he said when I blanched, and though I rolled my eyes I did eat it because I was starving and even bad food was food.

"I'm going to go see if they need help with the new dwellings," Lisa said after a moment, smiling at the two of us and rising to her feet, leaving the tent, and I turned my attention to Adam, trying to delay the point where I would go back to Castiel and have the conversation I really didn't want to have.

"How did the hunt go?" I asked, swallowing the rest of the rabbit food with a slight grimace. Adam smiled at me, preening a little.

"Fantastically. Those cats can't run very well, at least not here, but they are savage. They took down a few deer within an hour." I blinked, impressed; "And that redheaded cat…" Adam gave a low whistle of appreciation, and I nodded – I had been on the receiving end of Anna's skills myself.

"If it's any consolation, they're not as fast as us anyway. Their legs aren't long enough," I replied with a slight smirk, grinning when Adam laughed. "So…that redheaded cat? Her name's Anna, you know." Adam nodded – he did know. "And she's a bit of a handful, if my brief dealings with her were anything to go by."

Adam shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she likes me." And he winked at me, causing me to laugh again.

"God, you're such a dork," I said affectionately, mussing his hair so it stuck up even more than usual. He grunted and tried to pat it down but only succeeded in getting a kind of bed-head look that was kind of adorable, I guess, in that oh-my-God-so-cute way. Like in the pre-teen emo crush kind of way.

Anyway, stopping the analysis of my brother's looks…Okay.

"It feels wrong outside," Adam said after a companionable silence, biting into the meat Lisa had left behind as he kept his gaze thoughtfully outwards, through the deer skins that made up the tent. "It feels…angry. Sad. It's like a fog in the air." He turned towards me. "What happened?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Just a stupid fight between me and Cas, Adam. It's nothing."

"Sure as hell didn't feel like nothing. Threw all of us off our game for a long while. And I mean _all _of us. The cats were messed up for a while too – they couldn't decide what scent to follow and when they tried they just felt wrong about it and kept changing their minds. I could barely think straight – I felt like my brain was swollen." Adam seemed really concerned and I felt guilty, hating how my moods would affect my pack members whether I wanted them to or not. At least, my negative ones.

It's kind of like this; Alphas are strong and whatever but we're also human (so to speak) and sometimes we get angry or depressed. Unstable Alphas make an unstable pack and sometimes, with the Alpha Voice, we become tyrants, and terrible wars can happen as a result. It's like werewolf history 101, practically, and to avoid that sort of thing happening wolves were spelled to always be able to sense when something's wrong with their Alpha. To sense when he's in emotional pain, at least, so that they can help and try and get the pack stable again before the Alpha goes insane and starts making bad decisions.

I didn't like that my pack suffered when I was sad or angry or overly emotional. I didn't even like that sometimes when I was feeling particularly annoyed the Alpha Voice could slip in without my acknowledgement and I'd be obeyed immediately. It seemed like I was always a stone's throw away from becoming a tyrant and I didn't want that to happen. Having the pack sensitive to my emotional distress just seemed like another form of mind control to me.

"I have to go talk to Castiel," I finally said, having decided. I didn't want my pack members to suffer – that played a large part in tipping the scales. I stood, smiling down at Adam. "Watch yourself with Anna, okay? I don't want to have to clean her tent of entrails and find out you tried getting friendly."

Adam laughed and shoved at my leg as I walked past him, and then I was gone. He was right…the outside looked like it had been shoved into a sickly red filter. The wolves were subdued in their work and the cats were as well. I swallowed, hurrying to my tent and ducking inside.

The change in brightness froze me for a second, and then Castiel was suddenly there, his eyes bright and dark at the same time. I paused for a split second, taken by surprise that he had managed to move so quickly and quietly, and then his lips were on mine, hard and demanding and, I'll admit it, I whined a little. On the one hand, I was completely turned on by how possessive he was, how he touched me like he _owned _me, and it made me feel wanted and loved, but on the other hand I was still pissed at him, and it was this hand that pushed him away, forcing him to stop and look at me.

"We need to talk," I rasped, hating how low my voice had gotten already and how my body had instantly responded to him – to his scent and his touch and his mouth. _Stupid fucking cat. _He smirked at me like he could tell exactly what I was thinking and I growled, trying to put a little more authority in my voice; _"Now."_

He clenched his jaw, about to argue, and I didn't give him a chance to. I walked around his body, going to the middle of my tent and sat down, facing him. He joined me soon after. "Well, Alpha? I'm here. Talk."

His voice was aloof, his posture relaxed and seemingly without a care, but I knew better. I saw what I was looking for – the uneasiness in his eyes, and the way that, even though he didn't look at me, his body moved whenever mine did, shifting just a little. Tiny gestures that wouldn't give him away if I wasn't already looking for them.

"I'm sorry for storming out," I said softly, knowing that he wouldn't be the first to try and mend the divide and it felt like it needed to be said. "You just pissed me off, and I'm sorry. I should have stayed and talked it through."

I waited for a moment, but he didn't move. He didn't say anything. His hands curled into the skin of his thighs as his eyes flashed to mine. "Anna told me you were with Lisa all that time," he said, and it still sounded kind of casual but I could see the underlying tension in his body. I swallowed, hating how I was honestly _afraid _of his reaction – not for myself, but for Lisa.

"Yes. She helps me clear my head."

"Which head?" he snapped, and I flinched at his angry tone.

"I can't believe you," I growled, feeling that anger flaring up again. "You think I would go _fuck _her after just storming out for you saying I should? What the hell, Cas?"

"I think you would to spite me."

"You obviously don't know me very well," I snarled in reply, clenching my fists as I glared at him. He glared right on back for a long moment before I softened, sighing and closing my eyes, unable to meet his soul-deep gaze. "I don't want to fight about that. Can you just believe me when I say nothing happened?"

"…I do believe you," Castiel replied after an agonizingly long moment, sounding surprised with himself, and I opened my eyes to find him relaxing as well. "I just…forgive me," Castiel said, shaking his head with a bitter kind of smile. "About both things. But you obviously don't know _me _very well either, Dean. Do you think I would let you go so easily?"

"You did before," I snapped before I could stop myself.

I watched his eyes grow stormy. "Because it was what you wanted. You didn't want me to fight so I didn't. Carrying on the bloodline is an important thing to wolves – I know that, and Gabriel knows that. We all do. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"_Not that big of a deal?" _I repeated incredulously. "Castiel -."

"You have to understand me, Dean," he said, sitting forward. There was barely a foot of space between us now and he reached across that gap to splay his hand across the back of mine, soothing the fist away. "I was rash about it – I regret speaking it now. I do. I shouldn't doubt your loyalty to me…but we didn't get together under the best of circumstances."

I frowned; "What do you mean?"

"Coercion, Dean, that's what I mean," he replied with a low sigh, looking down at where our hands touched. "You slept with me because it seemed like the only way to get close. You were my prisoner and I knew that getting close to me was just a ruse – I _knew _it was just a plot, a plan of escape, but I wanted you, Dean. I wanted you so badly, so I took you. And you kept giving yourself. You kept pushing and testing the lines to see how far you could get me to go and I went. The basis of our relationship is lies and plots and I don't think that's the sort of example you want to set to a child."

"Fuck you," I growled out, without much heat. "You think a one-night-stand for the sake of heirs would be any better? At least I grew to have feelings for you, Cas." I took his hand, pressed it against my neck. "I was yours from the moment you sank your teeth into me. I've been yours ever since."

"But I practically took that choice from you, Dean," he replied, voice low and agonized. "I wasn't in my right mind."

"…I was," I whispered. "I would have stopped you if I really wanted to."

His eyes rose, then, and met mine. "What about your bloodline?"

"Wolves mate for life, Cas," I replied, letting my hand fall away from his and instead carding my fingers through his soft hair, smiling when he shifted a little closer to me, and I tilted his head, resting my forehead against his. "And we only take one. I know cats do things differently, but we don't. You have to understand that."

Castiel swallowed, and nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as he nuzzled into my mouth, forcing my lips apart and I happily granted access, losing myself in the sweet, lazy kiss. Already I felt better – the assumption still stung, a little, but now it seemed that at least we understood each other. He surged forward, easily pinning me on my back and I laughed into the kiss, spreading my legs so he could fall between them. He was purring, the sound loud and I could feel it against my stomach where he rested.

When he pulled away from the kiss I whined, trying to bring him back, but he just shook his head and laughed, licking with the rough of his tongue against my wrist. "No, Alpha, I still have plans; I'm going to spend a long time learning you until you know no one else can see or know you like I can – until you know you're _mine."_

I whined again, arching up as he slithered down my body, planting a soft, sucking kiss to my chest, right above my heart. I gasped at the sensation, kind of pain, mostly pleasure, as he dragged his teeth along my skin, sucking at a nipple when he reached it. The spark of sensation was sharp and I arched involuntarily, groaning when his tongue flicked across the nub, teeth biting down a little so I could feel their serration against my skin, and I moaned again at the threat of pain that he never carried out.

He sucked and bit at that one spot for what felt like forever until I felt like I was going to come undone, from his mouth alone and not even in a particularly sensitive spot, for me, and then he moved onto the other. The sting of cold air where his mouth had been countered perfectly to the warmth-over-chill feeling of his mouth descending on the other and I moaned, the sound coming from low in my throat and kind of choked-off, a shudder followed by a gasp.

The bastard smirked against me when I called out his name, grabbing at his head to try and force more of the feeling, less of it…Fuck I didn't even _know. _His hands trailed down my flanks, fingers skating around the healing bite mark he'd dealt me on the day he bit me for real, and he drew his mouth away, turning to look at it. I shuddered when he followed the trail of his finger with his tongue, smooth followed by rough along the sensitive, thin skin stretched taught by my breathing, which was rapid and shallow. He splayed his other hand across my chest, 'shh'ing into the bite.

"Relax, Dean – don't strain yourself," he said with a low chuckle and I didn't have the energy to even flip him off. He chuckled at my lack of responses, dragging his tongue across my ribs, counting them with his tongue until he reached my stomach. His hands grabbed, then, cradling my hip bones as he licked and kissed at my stomach and I choked on a sound, arching my hips desperately to try and get his mouth where I wanted it most.

He trailed his lips down agonizingly slowly, licking at the coarse hairs around the base of my cock and I bit my fingers, trying to stop the embarrassing noises coming out and I clenched my eyes tightly shut.

There was a low growl and my hand was ripped away, Castiel suddenly over my again.

"Don't shut off those pretty sounds from me, Alpha," he growled, before sealing his lips over my own in a kiss that seemed like punishment, but it was hard to feel that way when his hands were exploring my body so tenderly, the softest drag of his fingertips down my legs, hitching them up around his waist. I sucked in a breath – his breath – as I waited for the first breach of his fingers or his cock. The latter would probably hurt without prep but honestly I was so turned on I'd pretty much take anything he dished at me.

He smiled, and I felt pressure against my lower lip, forcing my jaws apart and his fingers joined his tongue, forcing my mouth open and I shied away a little bit, unsure what to do with myself, but he kept kissing me, his fingers getting wet from both of us and I groaned a little, tasting blood and meat – Adam must have fed him too. Or Anna when the bitch tried to make me look bad by saying I was with Lisa.

I growled, then, biting down on his fingers sharply enough that he drew away, surprised. "Enough foreplay," I snapped at him, tightening my legs so his cock rocked against my ass. "Fuck me, Cas."

He smirked. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" Then, I felt the tip of one spit-slick finger pressing in, all blunt pressure and slickness and I hissed, arching into that touch, and he leaned over my body, lips at my throat which I bared willingly for him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He kept pushing in, letting me get adjusted every now and again until it was all the way inside, and he crooked his finger just right, expertly right, and I cried out against his temple when the world went white for a second, lightning shooting up my spine.

"_Fuck," _I gasped, panting against him as I tried to relax, tried to stop my muscles seizing up around him and give him room to move, and he pulled his finger out, rough pad dragging along my insides and then back in. He was panting as well, his body slick with sweat from arousal and sliding against mine in the most delicious way. I whined, throwing my head back when he mercilessly began to press against my prostate again, pleasure flying through my system and making me incoherent. _"Cas." _

He grunted, hissing a little as he bit at one of the tendons in my neck. "Louder, Dean; let me hear my beautiful wolf howling for me," he growled, pulling his finger out and pushing in again with two, and I hissed once more, biting my lip to try and stop myself just begging like I knew he wanted me to. I'd never been very vocal during sex but Castiel just seemed to bring out lots of sides of me I didn't know I had.

He 'hmm'ed against my throat after a few cursory scissoring motions inside of me, just as impatient as I was, and he straightened, pushing at my legs until I was practically folded in half and planting his hands on the furs next under my arms, keeping my legs out and open, and I blushed at the vulnerable position. There was blue heat in his eyes when he finally, _finally, _pushed in, and I felt so full…_so fucking good. _It was almost unbearable, how good he was making me feel – so many sensations combining into one fucking _nirvana_ and my cock hadn't even been _touched. _

I reached down to try and get a hand around myself, to try and reach that perfect amount of sensation that would have me thrown into my orgasm, but Castiel was ahead of me. He tossed his head, biting down on my shoulder once again before I could use that hand to jack myself off. I cursed and covered the bite wound with my free hand, my bad forearm leaking blood into the bandaging and Castiel dragged his nose along my arm, inhaling with a self-satisfied little purr.

He looked up at me from under his lashes, smiling like he was the fucking _master, _and purred; "Just like that first night, eh, Alpha? I bet you can come just like this, just from my cock in your ass and my body on yours…knowing no one will ever fuck you, own you, _have _you like I do. Coming from the fact that I'm yours and you're mine and that's all it'll ever be, forever." He bit down, very lightly, on the back of my hand. "Hmm, Alpha? How do you like that?"

He punctuated the speech with a savage thrust into my body, going deep, thick and hard inside of me, and I was blind-sided by my orgasm. I howled for him, desperately trying to claw at him for purchase but my sweat-slick palms kept sliding off of him, and he bent low over my body, practically folding me in half as he began to thrust in earnest, our heavy breathing filling the room before he stilled, rocking as deep inside of me as he could go and came with a low groan against my shoulder. I sighed in a self-satisfied way, relaxing finally around him. When he let my legs drop I hissed at the cramping from staying in one position for so long and he stroked down them, soothing away the ache as he nuzzled into my throat gently, then my mouth.

"How's that for learning me?" I asked, half-joking, half-breathless when he finally pulled away long enough for me to breath, but I felt warm when he didn't draw away, kept his body like a warm layer of muscle over mine, almost chilled from the fever of sex.

He chuckled against my skin. "Well, it's definitely a start."


	14. Chapter 14

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Eventual MPreg, Dean being weird?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

**Author's Note: So…yeah I totally forgot in the last chapter that Dean was half-gored and still covered in bandages, making the marathon sex they'd had last chapter both pretty much impossible and probably wouldn't have even been initiated because Cas is uber protective and stuff. BUUUT if you're willing to overlook the fact that it's only NOW Dean is paying attention to his wounds then so am I, and we can get on with the pr0ns and story and stuff :D**

**Wow, this chapter was a bitch to write D: I'm sorreh for the wait and the badness. *cowers away* Please be satisfied in knowing that epic shit is about to go down.

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I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a freight train, you know, back when there were freight trains and we needed shit like railroads and stuff. I'd never seen one but I knew they traveled really fast, hardly ever stopped and being hit by one would kill you. So yeah, it seemed appropriate.

Castiel was already awake when I turned over with a groan, a smile on his face. "Morning, Dean. How'd you sleep?" he asked pleasantly, and I tried to muster up the energy to glare at him.

"My body hates you right now," I growled in reply, stretching my arms over my head and hissing when the action pulled at my arm, and I rubbed my forearm, growling when that just made it hurt _more_. "Shit."

"Actually your body seems very happy to see me," Castiel replied, grinning and sliding closer as he nodded down at my morning wood. I rolled my eyes – fucking were-cats. "Would you like me to take care of that?" he asked with that same shit-eating grin on his face and I pushed at his forehead, fighting a smile and failing – but it's the effort, _damn it. _He just came right back, nuzzling against my chest and pushing me back down. I hissed as the bandages pulled at my skin, wrinkled from sleeping and bending and doing whatever else. Still, his mouth felt nice against my skin as he licked down my chest, fisting my cock lightly as he did so.

I growled, arching just slightly and then hissing again when it just _hurt. _He plastered his body over mine, keeping me down with his deceptively heavy frame and slanted his lips over mine, jerking me off quickly, efficiently and I almost laughed at that.

"You're an ass, you know," I told him when he let me breathe; carding my fingers through his hair and he cocked his head to one side, blinking curiously down at me. "Seriously – I ache in places I didn't even know I had."

He laughed, pressing a light kiss to the corner of my mouth, his hand tightening and quickening around me. I mewled, grabbing hold of him and he kissed me to muffle my sounds as I shuddered, coming all over his hand and he purred against my throat, and I could feel the bastard grinning as he pulled away, lifting his hand to his own mouth and sucking his fingers clean.

"Smug bastard," I muttered, and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow, licking the come off his thumb with delicate swipes of his tongue before replying.

"You're awfully snappy today," he noted and I snorted, rolling my eyes before I pushed myself to my feet. Well, I tried – my arms felt like they were going to give out and my legs shook when I pushed myself to my feet. His eyes followed me. "Anything I can do to improve your mood?"

I hesitated. The bandages around my stomach were itching like crazy, and I felt like I was running on empty. Despite how deep the cuts and bites were from Gordon I was confident I'd have managed to heal myself pretty much all the way – I just felt _restless. _Like there was electricity in the air, like there was an uneasy shifting around me, like when the winds grow really calm right before a hurricane strikes. I looked back to Castiel, whose expression had changed from mildly amused and surprised to concerned, his eyes watching me carefully before he stood.

"Dean?" he asked, voice whisper-soft as he reached out to me, putting a hand on the side of my face, tilting it so he could meet my eyes. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I snapped back, more tired than angry, and closed my eyes, resting my forehead against his. "I just…feel weird. I really want to go running." I opened my eyes again, meeting his. "Will you come running with me?"

Castiel frowned, pulling away slightly and looking down. "You can't phase with these," he said, plucking at the edge of the bandages, his finger tracing along the top where my skin had rubbed and become irritated, making it red and itchy.

"I should be healed enough for Gabriel to take them off."

"You think you're ready for that?" His eyes were dark with concern when they met mine again, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I just wanted to tell him to shut up and stop mothering me already – and God, where did this bitchy attitude come from?

I didn't tell him to shut up, or go away. I just smiled and nodded, taking his hand and squeezing lightly. "Yeah – we'll go to him to take them off just to be sure, to get his opinion," I said, knowing that Cas would feel better if the Healer had said I was in good enough health to go running again – maybe we would hunt. The meager vegetables I'd had yesterday had not been enough to satisfy my hunger and my body was feeling the toll of the last couple weeks all at once, it seemed – all the aches and hunger and thirst from not eating and fighting too much and arguing were taking their toll. I had a splitting headache and my body felt like it was on fire. Plus there was that general feeling of _wrongness_ in the air.

"And you promise to follow his advice if he tells you to stay here and rest?" Castiel asked with a raised eyebrow, but didn't fight my hold as I pulled him towards the opening of the tent. I smiled at him innocently, doing my best 'Who, me?' face. He didn't seem amused. "_Dean._"

I _did _roll my eyes that time. "Yeah, sure, mom, promise," I muttered, and he smiled, pulling on my hand so I was guided into his arms and he kissed me – a long, slow, lazy thing that had me relaxing against him, soft moan swallowed and body burning under his fingertips.

He pulled away with a soft almost-smile. "Okay, Oedipus, let's go." It took me a moment to get that reference when he stalked out of the tent…

…And then I did.

"Oh, you fucker!" I yelled after him, running outside and seeing him standing a few feet away, his head cocked on one side in an expression that would be innocent if it weren't for the shit-eating grin on his face. "I'll get you for that!" He laughed and turned around, running towards Gabriel's tent, and I laughed and joined him, and for one moment my body didn't ache and the air didn't feel…_weird. _

At least until I ran into Sam's tent, following Castiel who had barreled right on through. I stopped immediately on entering, my eyes locked on a…well, let's just say – brain bleach. Like, bleach only reserved for the parts of the brain reserved for sexual things you don't want to see. Like your parents conceiving your little brother. Or your little brother with his mate currently being really occupied and…yeah. Awkward.

They broke apart when Castiel and I ran in, looking a little disgruntled at being interrupted and Sammy blushed a shade of red that really warranted a hair-mussing, but I held back, pretty confident that he'd rip my arm off if I tried, and instead tackled Castiel, pushing him onto his back. He let out a light 'oof' when I knocked the wind out of him and I grinned, nuzzling at his forehead.

"You interrupted us so you could molest your mate with an audience? Kinky." Gabriel's sarcastic voice snapped me away from Castiel and I lifted my head to watch him watching me, a small smirk on his face as he planted himself next to Sam and pulled a deer skin over both of their laps. I raised an eyebrow, cocking my head at him.

Castiel took the advantage and surged up, flipping me onto my back, and pain shot through my shoulders at the instinctive fight I put up, before I fell back with a groan. "You tag-teamed me!" I accused playfully, unable to stop the silly grin on my face as I looked up at Castiel.

The were-cat rolled his eyes. "Gabriel," he said, turning his eyes to his brother; "As you can see, my mate is restless. He wants to run but I insisted that you take a look at his wounds before attempting anything. Could you please make sure he's okay so we can get out of your hair?"

I'm pretty sure the only thing that stopped Gabriel from telling us to fuck off was the prospect of us leaving sooner if he obeyed. He rolled his eyes, pushing aside the deer skin and standing up, walking over to the two of us. I blushed at the sight of his half-hard cock and he smirked down at me; "Relax, Alpha Wolf – that ain't for you." I flipped him off and he laughed, fetching his medical bag from the side of the tent and he returned to kneeling next to me. As before he dipped his fingers in the top edge of the bandage, telling me to suck in a breath and I did, and he cut the bandages off. My skin looked red and rubbed raw from so long being wrapped so tightly, the scars standing out pale against the redness, creases in my skin where the bandages had stuck and bent, compressing and forming the skin around the shapes. It itched like hell and I tried to subtly scratch my back against the furs on the floor while Gabriel examined my wounds.

"You…look okay, for the most part," he said slowly, trailing a hand over the deepest cut and I chuckled.

"Why, Gabe, you sweet talker," I joked, and he raised an eyebrow at me, and then returned to examining me. It felt weird, being under that penetrative gaze, and for a second I saw a similarity in Gabriel and Castiel, in their intense gazes. It was weird – I was used to that coming from blue eyes, not hazel.

I propped myself up on my elbows when he continued to stare, pressing his palms on either side of the cuts and squeezing to see if any more blood oozed out. I hissed at him on principle and Castiel was suddenly there, supporting my head in his lap, fingers carding through my hair and even though the show of support and reassurance was unnecessary, I relaxed against him with a smile.

Gabriel took the knife in hand again, and I watched as he cut some of the stitches, doing that weird squeezing thing again, and his lips pursed when no blood came up. "You wolves heal really fast," he noted, grabbing a clean piece of cloth from his bag and dousing it in what I could only assume was oil, which he rubbed over the cut-open stitches, and began snipping through the rest of them. "You're alright, but I would say don't go getting into any more fights." He smirked and I, once again, flipped him off.

When he'd finished he held his hand out, and I looked it, confused, before Castiel grabbed my bandaged forearm and lifted it, placing it in Gabriel's hand. I fought back the urge to protest being manhandled like a doll, but stopped myself at the frown on the Healer's face. He bit his lower lip lightly, cutting the bandages away.

My arm looked like shit, to put it bluntly. There was a ragged bite mark that covered my whole forearm, making it look like three separate pieces of different people's arms that had been glued together with purple and red glue, like Frankenstein's Monster or something. The bandage was soaked with blood and when Gabriel pulled it away blood continued to flow, covering my arm and leaking out of deep marks where Gordon's canines would have been when he bit me. The very air seemed to hurt when I moved my arm, and Gabriel's touch was like acidic fire when he gently pressed him thumb into the tendon. I growled at him, trying to pull my hand away but he just followed me and pushed again, in a different place.

"Ow! That hurts, you fucker," I growled at him, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam give an amused snort. Gabriel chuckled and shook his head.

"I have to make sure there's no ligament or bone damage. I'm worried that it hasn't healed over yet – the cuts on your stomach are a lot deeper – or were – but they don't even need bandages anymore. This should be healed too but it isn't, so I'm worried. It's my job, so shut up and let me do it. Now." He bent my wrist back slightly. "Does that hurt?"

"Notice the writhing in pain and tightly controlled expression?" I snapped, pointing to my face with my good hand. "Yeah, that hurts. My arm is fucking _purple, _Gabriel. How about I save some time and say that _all _of it hurts?"

"Because not _all _of it will hurt," Gabriel replied coolly, his voice taking on the resigned tone of someone having to handle or reason with a difficult child. Even as I thought that he rolled his eyes. "God, I swear not even our cubs are this whiney when they get injured."

Sam snorted another laugh, this time crawling forward and sitting next to my shoulder, on my other side from Gabriel. "My brother doesn't like being the focus of a lot of attention," he said, laying a hand on my unhurt arm and I smiled.

Gabriel shook his head again, eyes wondering. _"How _did you two ever land the gigs of Alpha and Beta if you –" he pointed to me "- don't like being the centre of attention? Your personalities are almost reversed, you know." He looked to Castiel pointedly, then back to me and Sam in turn. "The more dominant of you is in the lesser position."

I flushed for a moment at the mention of dominance, knowing that Sam was a little more hotheaded than I was, and he was physically stronger so he most often got his way, as well as being able to reason with what he couldn't control through force, but – "It doesn't work like that. Alphas are from bloodlines and the firstborn of the Alpha pair is always the next Alpha. Mates are selected based on personality and strength to get the best offspring…present company excluded, or course," I finished, biting my lip as I remembered the spat Castiel and I had had over children. It still seemed like a sore subject so I was reluctant to even mention it in passing, but Castiel's posture and expression didn't change, so I let out a breath I'd been unconsciously holding, relaxing back into his hold.

"That doesn't seem very…smart," Gabriel said slowly.

Sam snorted. "It can end with bad Alphas, but pack members can always leave if they don't like the pack they're in, or mate into another. It's complicated but for the most part, it works."

"How does it work with you guys?" I asked, looking up at Castiel as he brushed his fingertips over my temple, through my hair. "How do you decide who's Alpha?"

Castiel smiled a little. "Were-cats are born either with the competence to be Alpha or not. It's something you can feel, inside of you," he said, pressing a hand to his chest and falling silent for a moment. "When an Alpha dies, all those who have that competence fight it out. It's a free-for-all; whoever comes out on top, wins, and then the Alpha can pick his Beta, with the Clan Elders' approval, from those who did not participate in the fight."

"Really?" I asked, torn between being more shocked over their methods of election, or over the fact that Cas had _won. _"_Dude, _how many cats did you have to fight?" I asked, grinning up at my mate.

Castiel smiled. "A few. Mostly they just took each other out then I picked them off when they were tired and more easily subdued."

"…Really?" I asked, unsure.

His smile widened. "No. I laid them all to waste."

…_Dude. _My mate was a total badass.

"So that's how you got to be Beta?" Sam asked, looking to Gabriel. "Cas chose you?"

Gabriel smiled and shrugged, finally letting go of my forearm after examining it (thankfully with more gentle touches that didn't send lightning-shards of pain up my arm) and reached into his back, getting out more bandages. "Betas get chosen from non-Alpha candidates because it lessens the chances of mutiny and assassination. What can I say? I guess he liked me or something."

Castiel smiled and reached out, laying his palm over his brother's shoulder, and it was the first sign of physical affection I'd ever seen between the were-cats, who usually weren't a very tactile people when compared to werewolves. Gabriel returned the expression, before pulling me to sit up and the moment was shattered.

"I don't like the look of your arm," he said seriously. "You still need to eat greens – lots of them, as many as you can – and I'll leave the bandaging off for now, but you need to keep some in your tent. If you start to feel at all lightheaded or dizzy you need to come back to me, and…I guess if you can run on it, you're safe to change and go." He sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "I didn't feel any broken bones – it just feels like really bad bruising and maybe a ripped tendon. I can't know for sure without the rest of my tools."

"How is the Clan move coming along? And the housing?" I asked, looking back to Sam after flashing Gabriel a grateful smile. He nodded and began to pack up his bag.

Sam pursed his lips, walking over to join his mate. "We've built several more tents – almost a dozen that will serve the purpose for the cats until we can make more individual ones. We'll have to get more skins for the tents and maybe build something more permanent than that."

"My people are all packed up and waiting for the go-ahead," Castiel said, looking at me as we both, too, stood up, and I took it as a good sign that my arm didn't twinge when I used it to push myself to my feet. My body still ached but I was feeling better, now – maybe just being around my new family for a while and just talking had calmed me down some. I don't know.

I nodded at him. "By all means, tell them to come. The sooner the better. Now." I turned to Gabriel, taking Castiel's hand. "I'll let you get back to molesting my little brother." Gabriel saluted and grinned and Sam blushed, and then Castiel was dragging me outside, already a cat before I'd even righted myself on the other side.

His ears were cocked forward, whiskers curving towards me and he mewled, tail flicking impatiently and I laughed. "Yeah, yeah, okay," I said, changing into a wolf in front of him and he rubbed his head against my jaw as soon as I had finished. _"We ready to go?"_

_"Always, Alpha."_

_"Then let's go," _I replied, half a challenge in my voice, and then Castiel twitched his whiskers again, and I could have sworn he _smiled _– in that cat way – before he turned on his back legs in a pivot and was off running. I laughed and ran after him. My leg twinged a little when I extended my leg, but it was okay as long as I didn't take the third beat with that leg, and I was able to make up the difference pretty quickly, drawing level with him as he continued to try and dodge through the trees, learning how to avoid them and learn when jumping over an obstacle would be a good idea or if it was better to just skirt around it.

I ran with him and taught him to be quick on his feet, because sometimes trees can jump up out of nowhere and catch you and leave a nasty blow to the pride and body behind.

We were almost back to the lake I'd shown him when we first tripped into the forest together when he stopped, nostrils flaring, ears cocked forward. I stopped as well. _"What is it?"_

_"Dean…I smell blood," _he said, sounding unsure, eyes flashing my way, nostrils flaring. _"Really strongly."_

I frowned, inhaling at the air, ears going forward as well as though I could hear the sounds of something in pain, to put a sound to the scent. _"I smell it too," _I replied, and I could now – the tang of rust and salt in the air. My nostrils flared and I looked around for the source, but couldn't find any. The feeling of _wrongness _was pervading the air again. _"Do you…?"_

"Dean." I looked up at Castiel's worried voice, as he'd changed back and was watching me with wide eyes. I looked down at myself, unsure what he was staring at. My leg hurt a little but it wasn't bleeding very badly – hardly more than a scratch. My stomach didn't hurt at all beyond the occasional twinge of muscles unused to so much exercise after so long resting. I didn't see a reason for him to be staring at me like that.

He ran over to me, running a hand down the back of my hind-leg, through the thin fur growing there and I shifted, turning my body to look at him. My ears went back and I bared my teeth in an uneasy whine when his fingertips and palm came back bloody. He turned to look at me with wide, slightly panicked eyes.

"It's you," he whispered, holding up his hand as though for my inspection. "Dean, you're bleeding."

* * *

**I KNOW. I just keep hurting Dean, don't I? Sigh.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, MPreg, Miscarriage

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

"Dean, you're bleeding." He rubbed the bloodied fingertips together, eyes wide, before he stared over at me. I could only blink back at him, before his face kind of…just, I don't know. He went really intense – that's the only way I can describe it. "For fuck's sake, lay down. Change back into a human. Please, Dean."

I was still surprised and confused – I wasn't in any pain, so I didn't understand why I was bleeding. I changed back into a human only because if I was a wolf we couldn't exactly communicate easily. And it would be easier to see what was wrong without a mass of fur in the way.

"God…" Castiel pushed me down onto my back, manhandling me easily so that he was kneeling between my legs. "Why didn't you tell me you were in pain? I didn't hurt you, did I?" He was frantic, hands checking me over frantically to search for any injury.

I tried to stop him, to calm him down. "Cas, listen, I'm not -."

"I can't believe you wouldn't fucking tell me you were in pain. God, I thought that -."

"_Cas." _I grabbed his forearm tightly, my other hand fisting in his hair and forcing him to stop. He _growled_ at me, teeth bared and I flinched away. "Listen," I said, trying to placate him; "I'm not…in pain. You didn't hurt me. You didn't do anything – Gabriel checked me over and I was fine. It's not an injury." Which made me frown because if it wasn't because of a wound then _why…? _

"I need to call Gabriel," Castiel said, standing up, and he was beginning to downright panic, I could see it in his eyes. He was really freaking out… "I need to…"

"Cas, wait, just calm down!" I said, sitting up, but he immediately growled and pushed me back down. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Listen, it might just be residual blood from…something." I suggested weakly, knowing the explanation sounded weak even to me. I could feel the blood now, between my legs, slick and warm on my thighs and it was uncomfortable.

Castiel snarled in frustration. "I don't think you understand, Dean. You're _bleeding. _Like, continually. You might have an open wound or internal injuries -."

"That Gabriel didn't catch?" I interrupted with a raised eyebrow.

"Gabriel…" Castiel looked up, eyes focused back the way we'd come. His brow furrowed. "He should be coming soon," he muttered. At my blank look he smirked slightly. "The Alpha and Beta, when elected, form a unique psychic bond which lasts until one dies or steps down. I can communicate with Gabriel over long distances in and out of phase."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That seems like something you should mention to me."

Castiel didn't reply, because suddenly Sam and Gabriel were there, storming out of the brush. They both became human and practically dog-piled me from the headlong rush. Sam collapsed into a kneel by my head, grabbing my face in his hands and jerking me to a sitting position.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded.

_God, _everyone's acting crazy. I pulled his hands away from me. "Nothing's wrong," I growled, pointedly looking at him and then Castiel. "I'm just -."

"He's bleeding and we don't know why," Castiel stated lowly, tersely and ignoring my glare. Bastard. "Gabriel?" We all looked to the Healer, who nodded and slowly knelt down, fingers digging in gently onto my thigh to get me to spread my legs. I ignored the really awkward feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What's wrong with him?"

"Just shut up and let me work," he snapped, and Sam and Castiel both subsided, which I was glad about – I wouldn't be able to take another moment of their exaggerated panic without killing something. Gabriel had a frown of concern on his face as he leaned down – and _God, _can I just say awkward?

I tried to push him away and close my legs, because I didn't care if he was a Healer there was doing a job and getting too friendly, but Castiel held my hands back, eyes dark and voice flat; "If you do not let him help you, Dean, so help me I will strap you down so you don't move."

"Kinky," I said in my traditional snappy comeback, but subsided because Castiel would probably make good on his threat and I didn't relish the idea of being chained down like a crazed mental patient just so Gabriel could look for a wound _that wasn't even there. _

"What happened?" Gabriel asked, drawing our attention back to the issue at hand. He was dragging his fingers through the blood and sniffing at it, a concerned expression on his face, and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I just started bleeding, apparently."

Gabriel nodded. "Are you in pain?"

"Aside from this situation from awkwardness? No," I joked, trying to make it lighthearted, but Castiel just glared at me.

_Eesh. Over-protective much? _I wasn't even in _pain. _It was just…I don't know, probably residual blood from something…coming out of me. Fucked if I know – I'm not a doctor. Gabriel sniffed again at the blood on his fingers, rubbing them together as he frowned down at me, and then met my eyes with a slight grimace. "Okay…awkward question, but can I…touch you?"

I blinked at Gabriel, before getting what he was saying and cringed away. "Hell no you can't. Look – I'm not even in pain – there's nothing going on that -."

"_Dean_." Castiel's voice drew my attention back to him. His voice was hard, jaw clenched, and I fought the urge to growl at him because he was _not _pulling the Alpha Voice on me – two could play at that game, bitch.

"_No," _I snapped back, pulling away from Gabriel and closing my legs. "You listen to me – I'm fine. It's just a bit of blood and -."

"People don't just _bleed, _Dean," Gabriel snapped, exasperated. "In fact, blood is something we like to keep _inside _the bodies. Now, you've been living off of very little sleep, even less food, and you recently were half-gored, so will you _please_ stop being such an ass and _let me make you better?" _

I hadn't seen Gabriel angry before. It was frightening. I blinked at him, at the golden fire in his eyes and the strict 'No bullshit' expression on his face, before I swallowed and nodded. Sam reached out, splaying a hand over my shoulder and squeezing, and I sighed, nodding again. "Yeah, Gabriel. Sorry," I muttered, feeling like a chastised child, and he nodded – a short, sharp notion.

"Good," he said, before gently prying my legs apart again. I grimaced when the motion caused fresh blood to leak out – it felt strange and weird and unpleasant, even more so when Gabriel's fingers began to gently press at my entrance. I shied away, unused to anyone touching me there aside from Castiel. Sam pressed himself against my side, running a soothing hand up and down my back and I closed my eyes, leaning back against him, relaxing into the comfort of my little brother's touch.

Castiel was glaring at Gabriel, as though even a medical exam was a step too far and I rolled my eyes, nudging him with my knee so that he'd meet my eyes and I could give him a chastising look. Gabriel slapped my leg and growled at me to be still, face twisted in concentration.

There was nothing about pleasure in his touch, which I was glad for, because getting a hard-on for your brother's mate when you brother and _your _mate are there is just awkward beyond belief and embarrassing as hell, and I didn't want to have to, you know, explain things. Gabriel was clinical, though, and I breathed through my nose as he felt around my slick passage, could feel the blood squelching around his fingers and I wrinkled my nose in sympathy for his position. If we never had to do this again it would be too soon.

Finally, Gabriel pulled his fingers out, slick with blood, and a frown on his face. Then, he looked at Castiel.

Now, when Castiel had been talking about that communication thing, he wasn't lying. It was like an epic-staring-match and occasionally one of them would say a word. It was weird, like watching a recording with broken sound.

"It's like -," Gabriel began, and then fell silent for a few seconds.

"So when -."

Gabriel shook his head.

"-scent -."

Castiel frowned. " – so he's -."

"_Was." _

Castiel blinked, swallowing, then shook his head. Gabriel did the same thing, blinking back to reality and meeting both my and Sam's confused eyes. He sighed, looking to Castiel, and then running his clean hand through his hair.

"What's going on, Cas?" I asked slowly, right at the same time Sam asked Gabriel the same question. Castiel blinked at me, his expression…blank. I didn't like it. I leaned forward, taking his hand in mine, and his eyes flashed to mine. It took me a moment to realize he looked _sorrowful. _Sad like someone had just died. I frowned. "Cas?"

He looked to Gabriel, who pressed a hand to his shoulder and squeezed. "You need to tell him." Then, Gabriel stood, holding out a hand for Sam's. "Come on, Sammy. Let's leave them alone for a while," he said, and I watched my little brother frown and bite his lip before he turned my head and pressed a light kiss to my forehead, then stood up and they both left. I felt…weaker, watching my brother go, without my brother's warm chest holding me up, being my backbone. I felt afraid, suddenly, seeing the pain in my mate's eyes.

"Castiel?" I asked, unable to keep my voice steady. "What's going on?"

Castiel took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, before he laced his fingers through mine and opened them again. "Dean…" He sighed and shifted, sitting cross-legged in front of me and pulled me into a sitting position so I could face him. "I…don't know what to say…" His eyes met mine, sad and sincere.

"Go on," I snapped, impatient and afraid. "Fatal disease? Internal bleeding? _Hemorrhoids?_ _Something, _Cas, give me something here."

He breathed another sigh, looking down where our hands were linked. "In my Clan, and among my people," he began, "it is customary to, when the pairs have been established for the next generation; give the woman a golden ring that fits around her neck. It tells other males that she has been claimed for the year, and it is taken off when the female becomes pregnant." I paused, waiting for him to continue and explain why he was telling me this. He took another breath, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. "So, for instance, if you were female…I would have taken the band off of you, a little over a week ago."

I frowned, not quite getting what he was saying. Then my eyes widened as a mix of shock and dread curling in my stomach as I gasped. "But…I…that's not _possible, _Cas. I'm a _guy." _His agonized eyes met mine once more, and I braced myself – he wasn't done.

"You're not pregnant, Dean," he said, voice barely above a whisper, and his grip almost too tight on my hand – "You _were._"

I blinked at him, mouth open like a gaping fish. I couldn't… I didn't…God, even now, telling the story, I can't put into words what I was feeling. Shock. Disbelief. _Pain. _I was a _guy. _Guys don't have children – they don't get pregnant and they _certainly _don't…miscarry. _God…_A miscarriage.

I pulled my hand away. More like ripped it away because his hold was so strong. It jarred my hurt forearm to do so, and Castiel reached after me. "Dean -."

"No," I growled, standing up and holding a hand out to stop him following. I couldn't…I couldn't be near him, right then. I needed…to be alone. To recover from what he'd told me. There was still blood coming out of me and I blanched, thinking of how…that was…God. I felt like I was going to throw up. I had to be alone. I had to run.

The mood swings, the bleeding…_God, _it all made _sense._

"I have to go," I ground out, shaken, backing away from him. He made a move to follow me, eyes wide and sorrow-filled but I couldn't let him come after me – I wanted to be alone and I couldn't have him near me…It was too much. "If you follow me, Cas, so help me _God _I will attack you," I spat, and it was all I could say before I was running, sprinting as fast as I could away from him, away from everything. I didn't know where I was running to – couldn't see through my blurry vision, even if I cared enough to know where I was going beyond not crashing into anything.

I ended up on top of a thick formation of rock, surrounded by nearly impenetrable shrub. There was only one way up to the top of the boulders that I'd found when playing an epic game of hide and track with Sammy – it had taken him _hours _to find me. It was like my special place to go when I needed to think.

The blood was potent in the air and stained the rocks when I sat. I tried to staunch the bleeding with leaves but it didn't seem to work, nor could I wipe it away because there was no water nearby and the blood had crusted on my thighs and down my legs. I felt panicked, looking at it, and my hands were shaking, tears in my eyes. I felt…God, I felt like I'd been ripped apart and put together wrong, and I…I hadn't even _known. _

That's what struck me most. If – and that's a big fucking _if – _I had been pregnant…I hadn't even _known _about it, and then it was _gone. _Something inside of me had been and gone and I hadn't even realized it was there. _Would _never know it was there. A son or daughter – a future member or Alpha of my Pack was dead and I had _lost _it.

Bobby found me many hours later, sobbing with my knees up under my chin and my arms around them. I tried to wipe my face and rid myself of the shameful evidence. He sat down next to me with a low sigh, squinting up at the sky and waited for me to get control of myself.

"Sam's worried about you," he finally said. "When your mate came back and said you'd just run. Thought I knew where you'd be." I smiled over at him, shaking my head, and my hands were trembling so I clenched them tightly, pressing into my shins.

"I…I'm so messed up, Bobby," I confessed to the man who had been my second father, my close friend and confidant. "I…God, I don't even know…"

"Castiel told me about the baby," he said softly, still not looking at me, and I shivered, burying my face in my knees. He finally turned to look at me. "I'm sorry about that, Dean. It's an awful thing to lose a child."

"I shouldn't even have one, Bobby!" I growled, wiping at my face again and grimacing at the wet feeling on my face and between my thighs. "I'm a _guy, _and I'm not meant to be able to have children! I can't…I'm not…" I shook my head. "It's impossible."

Bobby snorted. "Son, your Daddy was male-born," he said, and I snapped my eyes over to him, wide-eyed and disbelieving. He smiled slightly. "Your Daddy's parents were both male, you know." He sighed, looking up at the sky again. "I was really young, can barely remember, but I remember them trying to explain…Basically. It's like frogs."

"Um…frogs?" I said weakly.

"Yeah. You know…Jurassic Park? No?" I shook my head – I'd never been one for classical movies. "Well, basically…there's like this frog that, in a same-sex environment, will change gender for procreation. It's all about continuing the species, and apparently when an Alpha wolf mates with one of the same gender there's like a…transformation that can happen so there can be more Alphas. I'm kind of sketchy on the details."

"_Jesus, _Bobby," I growled, "you didn't think it would be…I don't know, something you would fucking _mention? _You know…'Oh, we're going on a hunt today', 'So and so's not feeling well so they won't be around much', 'You're going to grow a freaking _vagina _and have _babies?'"_

Bobby glared at me. "I didn't think it would be an issue, boy," he snapped. "I didn't know who of you was the dominant and I didn't think it would work with a were-cat. They're not…like us."

I growled at the derisive comment. "There's only one gene of difference between cats and wolves, Bobby, and I'd appreciate if you'd remember that and not treat my mate and his people like lower class citizens just because they're not like us."

"That wasn't what I was saying and you _know _that," he barked, pissed now, eyes flashing, and I averted my gaze, because I was too tired to argue about this anymore.

Finally, I couldn't take the tense silence anymore. "I lost it, Bobby," I gasped brokenly, feeling tears build up in my throat and behind my eyes again. "I just…I didn't even know I had it and now it's gone and I can't…I can't…" I shook my head, turning to face away from Bobby as I tried to get control of myself once more.

I felt his warm hand on the back of my neck. "It's okay, son," he said softly as I shook through a sob, unable to keep it back. "Sometimes these things happen. I can't imagine the wounds you got from Gordon helped any, and you've been sick and you've hardly eaten anything…"

"So you're saying this is _my _fault?" I snapped, angry now – angry with him and with myself for not being able to get control, for feeling so…_wrong. _I felt _wrong, _broken, like something inside of me had been ripped out along with my heart.

There was a silence, and then Bobby sighed. "You know that's not what I'm saying, Dean."

I sighed, taking in a deep breath of air that smelled like blood and Bobby and forest, and I felt calmer. I felt…more in control of myself. Lifting my head, I turned to smile at my friend. "Thanks, Bobby," I said, glad that he returned my smile and squeezed the back of my neck once more.

"No problem, idjit."

I laughed, the sound throaty and low from my voice that was rough with tears, and then looked down where blood had stained the rock. I sighed. "I'm still bleeding," I said, looking away. "I can't go back to the pack like this."

"Do you want me to send Castiel here?"

I shook my head.

"Do you want to be alone?"

I paused, and then shook my head again.

"Do you want me to stay?"

I looked over to him with a kind of sheepish smile, and he shook his head, assuming a long-suffering expression before he smiled back, and I relaxed somewhat. We watched the sun set together, and I felt at peace and rested for the first time since this whole drama started.


	16. Chapter 16

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, Drama, Talk of MPreg

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I stayed out on that rock formation for three hours, until the sun set and the air got cold. Bobby only left once to bring me food and water in a large bowl to wash myself, and even though it didn't completely go away I managed to wash most of the blood from my ass and thighs, leaving only a dull red residue behind. I longed for the protective shield of the were-cat clothing, but wearing clothing only proved I had something to hide and I didn't want to draw attention to myself beyond what I was already doing.

I ate the meat and vegetables he gave me like a starving man and practically inhaled the weird, jello-like supplement that we gave to injured people who usually couldn't chew or eat substantial amounts of food but still needed the energy, and I felt a little more refreshed by the end of it.

When the food was gone and I no longer smelled like blood, I sighed, wrapping my arms around my knees and staring out over the forest. I felt a little better, getting my strength back up, and now I just felt tired. The food was settling heavily in my belly and bringing on a huge food coma that had my eyelids drooping and my breathing steady but heavy.

I jerked into full awareness when Bobby laid a hand on my shoulder, meeting my eyes seriously. "It's time to go home, son," he said softly; "You need to assure your pack and, even if you don't do that, you _definitely _need to talk to your mate."

I sighed, closing my eyes. "I don't…" My fists clenched.

"Listen, boy," Bobby growled, hand squeezing my shoulder a little, over Castiel's bite, and I shivered at the sharp needle-point of pain. "I get that you're scared – believe me, I understand that you're scared and I can feel it, damn it." He placed his other hand over his chest, holding my gaze and I couldn't break away, despite the blush of shame I could feel building in my cheeks and the tears building up behind my eyes. "But you gotta understand, Dean, so's your mate. Neither of you were prepared for this and you need each other, now more than ever, and if you're too much of an idjit to see that then maybe…" He sighed, sitting upright again, hand falling away from my shoulder. "Maybe I overestimate you."

I cocked my head to one side, eyes narrowed. "Choose your words carefully now, Bobby," I growled, in no mood to be lectured like some stupid cub. I was an _Alpha, _damn it, and I should…I should _know _this crap and be able to stay in control of myself, damn it.

I sighed, looking away and rubbing a hand over my face. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I forced myself to calm down – I had to get myself together for the sake of my pack, so that they weren't in a state of disarray and panic when I came back. Again, I hated the fact that they could feel and be compelled to help whenever I was in a negative mood.

Finally I knew I couldn't delay anymore – if I stayed out much longer then someone else would come looking for me and eventually find me. Our lands aren't that big. I stood up, wincing at the pop of my joints as I straightened and stretched my legs and arms out, feeling better now that I was clean and deliberately ignoring the red patch on the rock underneath me. Bobby joined me and we walked down the rock together, through the thick brush that disguised the only way up and down.

I shouldn't have been surprised, when we came out from the brush, to find Castiel there, waiting for me, but I was. He was camped out at the bottom of a thick oak tree, just…sitting, waiting for me. At once I felt affection and annoyance, because…well, it meant he cared enough to practically stay around me and support me, and annoyance because…I wasn't ready to face him yet, to face the shame of losing our child. I didn't want to look at him and see his blame- and hate-filled eyes, judging me.

He stood up when we came out, and I backed away from him, averting my gaze, but I couldn't go far before there was brush and rock at my back. Castiel didn't stop – he approached me slowly like one would do a wounded animal, and I could feel his eyes on me, burning me. I didn't want to meet them.

"Bobby?" Castiel's voice was low and rough. I closed my eyes at the sound of it. "Can you leave us?"

I couldn't see Bobby's expression, but I heard him leaving, and tensed up slightly, disbelieving that he would leave me and Castiel alone here. I finally opened my eyes, able to see Castiel's pale feet standing out against the forest floor.

"Dean?" He stepped forward, and I shivered at the contrast of his body heat and the cold rock, evident even though he was still over two feet away from me. He gave out heat like a fucking furnace. I closed my eyes again and flinched when Castiel's hand touched my cheek, holding my chin and tilting my head up. "Dean, look at me."

Looking back, I don't know why I was so afraid – it seems silly now. I mean, I'd lost the kid…but Castiel loved me. _Loves _me. He wouldn't blame me for that. But it was something I couldn't wrap my mind around at the time – unconditional love outside of families. After all the talk about how we got together – how it was forced – and how something so _unreal _was suddenly natural…after all the tension and fighting and drama I was just too tired to think it was going to change, that Castiel would be any different.

I opened my eyes, and his shone luminous in the darkness, bright blue against black. He pressed closer and I could hear the low rumble of his breath in his lungs, feel his exhale on my skin and his body heat, dulled only slightly by his clothing, against my body. "Dean…why did you run?" he asked, still holding my head, preventing me looking away.

"I'm sorry," I said, wanting to pull away but unable to, trapped between the desire to confess and the fear, the need to run. "I was scared and I…I'm sorry." My voice had no heat or authority behind it – just exhaustion. I was so tired… "If you're angry, just be quick about it, okay?"

Castiel frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Fuck, it was hard to say. "If you don't want me anymore, and want to revoke your claim, I won't stop you. Just…make it quick?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Castiel demanded, eyes going hard once he realized what I was saying – breaking up a mated pair was practically unheard of for wolves, and Castiel would _know _that; we both would, as Alphas. And it was very painful, like feeling yourself die. He pressed against me harder, and I hissed when loose stones from the rocks and thorns and braches from the brush dug into my back. "You think I would leave you because of this tragedy? Why would you think that, Dean?"

"Because I failed," I replied quickly, unnerved by the violence raging in his eyes, sure that he was about to attack me. I pushed against his chest in defense and he backed away just a little, but didn't let my head go. "I lost the baby."

"You were half-gored, Dean," he growled, eyes flashing. "Anyone would have lost it."

I flinched at his angry tone. "Stop making excuses for me," I snapped, because that's _not _what I wanted. It's why I hesitated to go back to the pack – everyone would have kind words and excuses and they'd say that it was alright and it could have happened to anybody, but I didn't _want _that, damn it. "Just…God, Cas, get fucking _angry! _I just lost _your child. _Why aren't you angrier about it, or sad?"

"You have your ways of grieving, Dean, and I have mine," he replied coldly, eyes flashing again. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to emote, damn it," I growled back, and I knew it was unfair – Castiel had lost a child too – but I felt…_broken _from the inside, and I wanted to know that I wasn't the only one feeling this way (you know, not by force anyway like my pack would). I wanted to know that Castiel was hurting too – I wanted him to _show _me, _somehow. _Anything.

"You want me to _emote?_" he snarled, baring his teeth for a brief moment before he turned away from me, finally letting my head go – and I was relieved because it kind of felt like he was about to rip my jaw off. "How can I?" he shouted, rounding on me again, "when my duty and my position require me to be calm? You are asking me to go against years – _centuries _– of learning and practice, Dean. Wolves live by their emotions, by their hormones, but cats do not." His eyes were _burning_ with blue flame and I shrank back when he finally landed them on me, meeting and holding my gaze and I could only stand there, staring right on back at him.

Until he was suddenly in front of me again, his hands finding positions on my body, one around the back of my thigh, feeling at the outline of the bloodstain, the other curving over my neck, covering Castiel's mating bite. "I do not blame you," he said seriously, eyes dark, "but the bastard who defied you and ripped you open because you tried to help me help a member of my Clan. I would never hate you for something that you could not control, and I will never, _never –" _His thumb swept over the edge of his bite. "- revoke my claim on you. You are _mine, _Dean Winchester."

"Cas…" I was speechless, submissive in the face of his power, because _shit, _he was really channeling the 'badass Alpha' vibe and I still felt weak, and I didn't want to fight. I couldn't fight it so I didn't. I tilted my head towards him, resting our foreheads together, and sighed, daring to reach forward for the first time and card my fingers through his hair. "Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive," he purred, tilting our heads to place a chaste kiss to my lips. The gesture was so affectionate I damn near broke down, and whimpered against his lips. He smiled and leaned against me, nuzzling into my neck. "Dean, come back to the packs with me. Rest in the warmth and safety of our tent and let me be near you again, please…"

"It's only been a few hours, Cas," I answered with a sardonic smile, but didn't say 'No'.

"Three hours…" He slid his hand from my neck to the back of my head, fingers curling loosely in my hair, and then tightening. "Three fucking hours where I didn't know where you were, what had happened to you, only that you were scared and angry and confused, and one of a thousand things could have happened to you in your weakened state. The scent of your blood would have attracted anything and everything for miles around and your sorrow made you blind and careless. You could have been attacked."

I sighed. "I don't want to fight about this," I said, nuzzling back into him, hoping that maybe I could calm him down with my touch – it was just like before. I just had to reassure him that I was alive and healthy, and even though I was a bit iffy on the second part, I was most definitely alive. "Take me home, Cas," I whispered, and he nodded, stepping away and turning into a cat in front of my eyes. I didn't have the energy or inclination to run with him, so I just climbed onto his back and settled behind his shoulders.

Cats are different to ride than wolves, I discovered quite quickly. It's the difference man would have drawn between a horse and a camel. Castiel was all smooth glide and I could hardly tell when he landed each step – except for when he swerved to avoid hitting trees, that is – and it was like riding a big warm cloud covered in fur. I buried my fingers in his sleek coat and relaxed as much as I could, resting against his back as he ran, and I became aware of a vibration below me whenever I stroked my hand between his shoulder blades.

"Dude," I said eventually; "Are you _purring?" _

He, of course, didn't reply, but his ears twitched as he gave a low rumble of assent. I smiled. "That's kind of weird…" He started purring again when I continued to pet him, slowing down to a fast walk, head low to the ground like he was hunting, on the prowl or following a scent.

I realized why when I finally looked at our surroundings and spotted the shapes of Sam and Gabriel amongst the trees, watching and trailing us, and I rolled my eyes. Of course Castiel would have contacted them, or they would have been waiting on the border for my return. I slid of Castiel mid-step, walking next to him and soon enough a human Sam was joining me, Gabriel taking up guard on his other side, still a cat.

It was kind of a weird picture, but it worked for me, especially when I reached out and tangled my fingers in Castiel's short, thick, matted fur, letting his warmth and strength come into me and keep me upright. I was _so _tired.

Sam's mouth was twisted into dissatisfaction and hesitance, as though he couldn't decide between making sure I was okay and ripping me a new one over just up and leaving without a word, and I kind of understood – despite how close wolves got to their mates, there were some familial bonds that were just as strong, if not stronger, and Sam and I had always been close enough that outsiders tended to mistake us for a mated pair. Sammy would never be replaced in my life – he was my closest friend and confidante and I felt a little guilty, because even if I couldn't have talked to Castiel about my…miscarriage…I should have been able to talk to him. Should have called him to me instead of running away and waiting for someone to find me.

I reached my free hand out to him, letting it hang between us. "I'm sorry," I whispered, and his entire face and posture softened, and he reached out as well, splaying his fingers to match mine and we touched our fingertips together, meeting them point for point before flattening our hands so our palms met as well, and I smiled.

"Just don't do it again," he snapped without much heat, and I smiled, shaking my head a little.

"Wouldn't dream of it." A pause. "Bitch."

Gabriel's and Castiel's ears cocked at the playful insult. "Jerk," Sam replied, still keeping our hands locked together, and that's how we were coming back into the settlement. I could feel the unease in the air and I hesitated, too much of a coward to face my pack head-on.

"You need to go talk to them," Castiel said, suddenly right by my shoulder, and I jumped, having not expected it.

"Cas! Seriously…gonna have to put a bell on you or something." I shook my head at his expression, smiling a little. I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah….I'm gonna go tell them," I said, without much conviction because really I didn't feel any. I didn't want to face them and have to explain everything…it would require detail, and reliving things that I'd rather not have relived, but I knew it was necessary so I took a deep breath and Castiel's hand, letting Sam's go, and we walked into the middle of the settlement.

Bobby had already gotten the wolves assembled, and I blinked at the sheer number. I recognized several cats from…Castiel's settlement. Of course – the move. I'd almost managed to forget about it. Already there were cats sitting next to wolves, women chatting and men comparing war wounds, even if there was a kind of somberness to them because of the Alphas' moods.

Lisa noticed me first – she broke with her conversation with…Jo, to look over at me, and breathed the word 'Alpha' – and the silence was like ripples moving outward from that one spot, everyone turning to look at Cas and me with wide eyes and silence. I felt their stares like an itch under my skin, and braced myself, straightening my shoulders as I walked into them.

I stopped by Jo, looking down at her, and then crouched. She held a baby in her arms that was quietly suckling at her breast, and I smiled, stroking the child's head softly. She smiled back at me when I met her eyes.

"It's good to see you again, Jo."

"And you, Dean."

"You're looking well. I heard the birth was difficult."

She shrugged. "I got there in the end," she said, and I couldn't help but smile.

I looked down at the child, overwhelmed with the knowledge that, were it not for the circumstances, I could have one of those growing inside of me right now. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," she answered, pausing for a moment. "I named him Dean," she said softly.

My eyes widened, and I was struck speechless for a moment at that. Then, I placed a hand on her cheek and a hand on the child's fat little stomach, and smiled. "I am honored," I said, placing a light kiss to her forehead – much to the opinion of my wolves, who were whispering among themselves by the time I stood up and looked out over to them. I heard the words 'blood' and 'sorrow' and knew they were able to see the stains on my legs, and couldn't imagine the kind of conclusions they were jumping to.

I sighed. "We're doing this too often," I said, at a loss of what else to say, and their muted chuckles brought a slight smile to my face. I rubbed a hand over my eyes. "Alright, guys, I know the last few days have sucked, at least for you because of me, and I'm sorry for that." I knew they had already forgive me, though, and that's what sucked the most about it. "Anyway…listen, I will explain everything tomorrow, in the light of day. It's late and it's dark and I know we're all tired, so let's get some sleep, and tomorrow at noon I'll explain everything, as much as I can."

There was a tense kind of silence that followed that, and I looked to Sam, Gabriel and Castiel for help. "We're not trying to be secretive," Castiel said after meeting my eyes, stepping forward to address the packs. "We just ask for a few hours' respite, and then we will have a great many things to discuss."

"Get some sleep, Alpha," Lisa said, kneeling up so her head rose above the others. She was frowning at me in concern and it made me wonder just how shitty I actually looked. "You're dead on your feet." I smiled gratefully at her and she returned it before settling back next to Jo. I was glad the two had found friendship in each other – we'd need as many friendships and close alliances as we could over the coming months as winter descended.

It was late and as a general people wolves were pointedly diurnal – ironic, we know, but it just makes more sense and we usually survive better as day-workers – so everyone was tired going back to the tents. Castiel led the way for me, keeping a hold of my hand as he shoved the tent flap aside and led me over to the pile of furs that made up our bed, and pushed me down onto it. He quickly plastered himself in a comfortable position against me, curled up around my back with one leg between mine, tangling us up together, and I drew a bear hide over us to keep out the cold air. Castiel's body heat quickly warmed me, and though my mind was still in turmoil and uneasy, my body was sated for now and I was too exhausted to be kept awake by my thoughts, and I sank into a deep, long-awaited sleep.

**I'm sorry for the wait and badness. D= Stuff's happening next chapter. This is shameless filler . the 28 days fic just took a lot of mojo out of me, sigh. Also, I'm going to London for three days so don't expect updates from me until Monday at the earliest! :D *huggles you all***


	17. Chapter 17

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** Angst, MPreg, Talks of Miscarriage, and OUT OF THIS WORLD cheesiness and cliché.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I jerked awake in the middle of the night, and I had no idea why. There was just a…sense, of something. Not bad just different…I could feel it in my chest and stomach and head, like there was something that _wasn't _there that should be. Given my recent experience with those kinds of feelings, you can understand why I was nervous about it.

I looked behind me and Castiel was still asleep. He looked…peaceful, the usual lines on his face smoothed out in sleep, and (pardon the cliché) he looked almost angelic. I bit my lip, feeling guilty for all the stress I'd been putting him through over the past few days, and although that weird feeling hadn't gone away, I ignored it and nuzzled back into him, face to face this time, and wrapped my arms around him, feeling a little better when he sighed in his sleep and shifted closer as well, a small smile coming to his face. It was so stupidly adorable that I couldn't help smiling, and placed a light kiss to the corner of his mouth before I closed my eyes, wanting to get some more sleep before the sun came up and I would have to talk to my pack about everything that had been going on.

And, wow, thank you brain, now I was too nervous to sleep. Damn it. I burrowed deeper into Castiel, inhaling his scent and wrapping myself in his body heat, and while I relaxed a little bit in my mate's arms I couldn't stop _thinking. _My brain was working too much for me to sleep no matter how tired I was and how exhausted I felt.

I sighed, shifting a little more when Castiel's hand started stroking down my back, fingernails digging slightly into my spine for some extra scratch that felt kind of awesome. I groaned, shifting a little and arching into the touch as he rubbed down my back, and Castiel exhaled heavily, leaving a warm dampness behind on my forehead, and though I couldn't see his face I knew he was awake now – his breathing pattern changed just slightly and his heartbeat picked up in wakefulness. He moved his head and I closed my eyes when I felt a light kiss on my forehead.

"What time is it?" His sleep-rough voice was even lower in his drowsy, half-awake state, and I shivered.

"Too early," I replied, feeling guilty for waking him up with my clinginess. "Go back to sleep."

"What's wrong?" he asked, ignoring my request, and he pulled away slightly to see my face. His eyes were dark with concern and there was a small frown line on his brow. I reached up and smoothed it away, meeting his gaze. "Couldn't sleep?" He guessed correctly and I nodded. His hands were still petting and rubbing my back and it felt really good.

Then, he smirked a little in a way that made heat flare up at the base of my spine, his fingers trailing lower. "Want me to wear you out?" he asked with a mischievous smile, and I knew that in any other situation that one line would have had me begging for more of his touch and we'd have spent the rest of the night fucking each other senseless, but as it stood now…

I shook my head, pulling on his wrists until his hands settled on less dangerous territory. "No," I said, but there was no heat behind it. Honestly I was kind of freaked out – I felt all wrong on the inside and if Castiel and I had sex…I could get pregnant again…I could lose another. There were so many questions that I didn't have answers to and until I got those answers I didn't _want _to let him down again, by accident or otherwise. I didn't want to be a disappointment to him.

He frowned a little but didn't push the subject, just pulled me closer into the circle of his arms. "Alright, Dean. Just try and sleep," he murmured, turning me so that my back was to his chest, his body slotting easily behind mine, arms locking with mine and settling around my chest and stomach. One of his hands landed on my stomach and splayed outward and I closed my eyes, sighing at the knowledge that something had _been _there, not even a day ago, and now it wasn't.

Feeling tears building up behind my eyes, I forced the thought away. If Castiel noticed, he didn't say anything, but he started humming a low tune, a melody I didn't recognize, and I fell asleep with his voice in my ear and his heartbeat against my back.

He was still petting me when I awoke, and I wondered if he'd gotten any sleep himself. When I turned around his eyes were on me, bright and alert despite the hour – dawn was just breaking, if the translucence of the tent was any measure – and I smiled a little sheepishly at him, guilty for making him lose sleep. I caught his hand in mine, raising it to my lips and kissed his knuckles. "Did you sleep any more?"

He shook his head. "No, but I am not tired." He leaned forward and over my shoulder, his free arm supporting his weight and slanted his lips over mine, gently biting my bottom lip to get me to open for him, and I did eagerly. He tasted like blood. I shifted a little to try and get a better position that didn't strain us both so much and froze, feeling stickiness on my thighs. Had I started bleeding again?

I broke the kiss and sat up, looking down, and there was nothing. Not even the stain. I looked over at him again. "Did you groom me while I was asleep?" Castiel bit his lip and looked away with a kind of guilty expression and blush, and I shook my head – cats are just weird sometimes.

"You tasted like a woman," Castiel replied after a brief silence, and I looked back to him. There was an expression that I couldn't read on his face. "You smelled…like the first night I laid with you – a strong call. Your heat, maybe. The blood tasted like fertility and even now –" he paused to inhale "you still do."

"Cas," I said in a warning tone, shifting away from him a little, "I don't want to talk about this."

He paused, then; "I think it's something we need to talk about, Dean."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and clenching my eyes shut. I felt a huge migraine coming on, and I didn't want to talk, because those kinds of talks lead to fighting and I didn't want to fight with Castiel. It's a naïve thing to think, I know – that I could just ignore the issue and it would go away – but I just wanted to deny myself reality, just for a little while longer.

But I'm not a coward when I can help it. "What exactly do you want to talk about?" I hedged, buying myself time because I knew what he was going to say – or at least, I could make a pretty educated guess.

"You're _fertile, _Dean," Castiel said, crawling closer to me so we were facing each other, a lot like after our last big fight. "You can bear children – the subject of heirs is now solved. And…" He broke off, biting his lip and looking down.

"What, Cas?"

His blue eyes flashed up to mine. "We're in love, right?" I blinked, and nodded, unsure where he was going with this. "I love you, and you love me, and…damn it, Dean, it's called _making love, _and when you love someone you're meant to _make _something out of that…a baby, a child. I future member or Alpha of your pack. Something to stand for the unity you're trying so hard to bring about. Something that _we _can make because _we love each other._"

I'd never thought about it that way. "Cas, I…" I put a hand to my stomach, unable to meet his gaze. "I can't do it. I can't lose another one." I shook my head. "You can't imagine it, Castiel. I feel like I've been put together wrong after being ripped apart."

He didn't say anything. I didn't _want _him to say anything, though, so it worked out okay. The silence was tense and I could feel his eyes on me, hard and just waiting for me to meet them, but I wasn't going to – okay, so maybe I'm a little bit of a coward.

All I could think of was what Castiel had said. Making love. Making _something _out of love. A baby…Castiel would be an excellent father, of that I had no doubt – he'd be the hard hand and the one the child could run to when he was in trouble, be the shelter from the storm. I…didn't know. The closest I'd been to being a father was with Ben, and taking care of a pack is like taking care of a family as well, and I didn't know if I'd be able to handle it.

It was as if Castiel was reading my thoughts (could he do that?); "You would be an excellent father, Dean," he said, reaching forward and placing a hand over mine, over my stomach. "You are strong and brave, and though reckless –" I smiled thinly at that. "- you are a good, righteous man. Any child would be lucky to have you as a father."

A pause. "Your heat is strong right now. It would be the best time. For my people, in the event of a miscarriage, the golden band around the female's neck goes back on and will stay on until she is pregnant again." His hand left mine, cold air rushing back onto my skin. "We should start trying again as soon as possible."

"Regardless of what the female wants?" I asked, finally finding the courage to meet his eyes again, my anger making me strong. "I'm not just some _carrier, _Castiel – I'm not going to fuck you out of a twisted sense of _duty, _you got that? I'm not just…I'm not a were-cat, and you need to wrap your head around that."

"I understand that, Dean," he said, voice low with exasperation.

"Really? 'Cause I don't think you do." I moved my hand away from my stomach, pointing at him accusingly. "I don't think you quite get that this is an equal partnership, Cas. I'm a fucking Alpha too, okay? I'm not just some female you knock up and then wait for her to pop, just so you can knock her up again."

Castiel didn't reply straight away – he kept my gaze, held it steadily, and then reached up slowly and took my hand, soothing the fist away and bringing it down so it rested on my knee.

"I'm not just trying to 'knock you up', Dean," he said softly, and he sounded hurt, like I'd actually wounded him with what I had been saying. And I knew I was being irrational but I didn't care. "I am trying to make you happy, and I know family makes you happy. Looking at how you are with Sam…that strong of a bond, I've never shared that with Gabriel, not really. We are closer as Alpha and Beta than we are as brothers, and I know werewolves have much stronger bonds than we do, and I know having children will make you happy. I'm just trying to make you happy."

Okay…now I felt like an ass. Castiel sounded so _sincere, _as well, and it broke my heart, really, meeting his dark, liquid eyes and knowing that he was only thinking of _me _and _my _happiness, and I knew I was being a selfish jerk.

I bit my lip and squeezed his hand gently. He smiled a little and squeezed mine back. "What would make _you _happy, Cas?" I asked, "And if you say that making me happy will make _you _happy, so help me God, I will hit you."

He chuckled briefly at that, and the tension was broken and I allowed myself a small smile, rubbing my thumb along the back of his hand. "What would make me happy…" He paused, thinking for a moment. "What would make me happy, would be seeing my pack healthy and thriving, to see my people happy and mixing easily among those who had once been there enemies. I would be happy seeing my brother and his mate together and leading the packs as a strong couple, maybe even with children of their own. I would be happy knowing my mate was safe and protected, loved and cared for and treated like the beautiful soul he is, and…I would be happy seeing little versions of me and my mate, running around and raising hell, running us both ragged trying to keep up with them."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a picture you paint," I said, swallowing around the sudden lump of emotion in my throat. "Makes me wonder how long you stared at the blank canvas before you went to work."

Castiel shrugged slightly. "It kind of just…exploded," he confessed. "Once I bit you, and saw how happy your brother made mine, and learned that you could bear us _children, Dean…_" He shook his head, an awed expression on his face. "There was nothing else I could see besides that. I know it hurts. I can't fathom what losing something that was part of you felt like…" He reached up, stroked down the side of my face, and I didn't realize I was shaking before his touch calmed me back down. "But I love you, and if you're willing to try again, then so am I. And if you're not, then I can wait. That picture won't burn away just because there are a few changes made by the artist."

But I could _see _it, now. I could see everything he pictured – a pack made of werewolves and cats in equal measure, with mated pairs from both sides coming together and sharing what Castiel and I shared – that unity and bond strengthened despite the differences in blood and DNA separating us. We could be stronger, unified, set an example and lead the way for all the others, and create such a warm, loving community, such that bringing children into it would seem like such a natural thing. I found myself smiling at a picture of Castiel and I and a little mixed version of ourselves, and I couldn't say 'No'. Not again.

I pulled Castiel close to me and sealed our lips together in a kiss, heated and passionate, and he mewled into it, fingers digging into my hair and scalp. He pushed forward and I laid back obediently, letting him settle between my legs when one hand pushed my thighs apart.

I'd never called it 'Making Love' before. It was always 'Having Sex' or 'Fucking' or some other crude slang term, but that time…that time I felt it. I felt it in the way he kissed me, gently but no less passionately, like there was heat under the surface of his skin, burning from the inside, like it was trying to reach out and warm my body as well. I felt it in the way his body fell in line with mine, slick with sweat, fluid and constantly in motion as he rocked against me while his fingers stretched me open. I felt it in the jolt of fire along my spine when his fingers brushed my prostate and in the smooth burn when he finally pushed in, filling me up so completely that I wondered how I could ever _think _of denying him.

He breathed my air and I breathed his, and _this _was making love. Slow, unhurried, long, without a care in the world. The tent could have caught on fire and I probably wouldn't have noticed. It was all liquid passion and emotion swirling together between us where even air couldn't reach, and I know I'm romanticizing this to a stupidly high degree, but that's honestly what it _felt _like. I felt like I could live like this forever, just surviving off of him.

And when he leaned down and bit me, stilling inside of me as he rode out his orgasm and his hand forced my own, I clutched at him like it was the only thing keeping me grounded, our breaths heavy and loud in the cold light of dawn, and then he kissed me and it tasted like blood and sweat, passion and love all at once.

I whimpered when he pulled out, sore despite how gentle he'd been, and he rolled to the side of me, our lips still locked together in that kiss, brushing my sweat-soaked hair from my face before his hand ran down my chest to my stomach, splaying over where a baby might grow.

Castiel smiled when I sighed, relaxing against him – Jesus I was exhausted – and placed another light kiss to my lips, rubbing his thumb over the slight rise of my stomach. I don't know how long we laid like that for, but eventually he shifted and sat up, his hair in messy disarray from where it had stuck when drying, and his eyes were on his hand. "Your heat's gone," he said slowly, and while I _didn't _allow myself to hope, I couldn't help thinking that maybe…

Just maybe…


	18. Chapter 18

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I sat up next to Castiel, leaning into him so that I could start licking him clean, since I hadn't been able to groom him in what felt like too long and I missed the contact, the close intimacy of washing your lover clean. Castiel purred underneath me when I pushed him down, his hands lazily exploring as I lapped at his skin, taking away the salt and dirt and just leaving my scent behind, so that everyone would be able to smell us on each other. The more 'wolf' side of me let out a pleased little rumble at that.

"Cas?" I asked, bent over his torso as I licked at his ribs, counting them with my tongue, and he lifted his head, too lazy to actually form words, but instead just little out a little curious sound from the back of his throat. "That vision…that picture you told me about…" He nodded. "You had that since you bit me?"

It was strange, because I had thought he hated me at the time, like he was so confused he didn't know whether he wanted to fight me or fuck me, when I thought he just wanted me because I was willing.

He sat up and took my head in his head, letting our lips slide together for a brief moment as his hand carded through my hair. "It just fell together, Dean," he murmured against my jaw and lips. "I bit you and I had you in my arms, and you had just stood up to me about the food thing. You were so defiant, and you cared so much about people you didn't even know, about people that might have hated you for all you knew about them, but you still fought me. You defied me, and no one's _ever _done that. You intrigued me. You were so bright and passionate and I just had to have you, in both the sense for your cultures and mine."

I couldn't speak, overwhelmed with what he was telling me, because…I didn't even _know _if I loved him then, but he was telling me that he had. More than just an act of possession, or at least, that's what I was getting from his speech. I crawled closer, resting his forehead against mine. "Cas…"

"I know you didn't feel the same, at first," he whispered, still petting through my hair, bumping our noses together as he shook his head, smiling. "I knew you just wanted me so that you could take me out when the time came. It's how Alphas think, Dean, and I don't begrudge you for it." He chuckled a little. "In fact, I would have been surprised, with the way I treated you."

I covered the bite on his neck with my hand, smiling a little. "You're too good to me," I said, making it sound like a confession, because he really was. I didn't deserve such a loving, caring man who balanced me so perfectly (yes, I know I sound like a girl here, but what the hell).

"You're a beautiful wolf, Dean," he replied, closing his eyes for a moment. "You're self-sacrificing, and loving, and loyal. You're the kind of person to run into certain death if it means people don't have to die alone." His thumb brushed over the sensitive skin under my ear and I shivered a little, leaning into the touch. "You are truly remarkable, so don't think I'm special just because I acknowledge that. We all love you here, Dean. I can taste your pack's devotion in the air. Wolves have something cats were never made to understand and I want to learn. I want you to teach me."

And it was the best thing he could have said, and I kissed him breathless, unable to quite say all that I was feeling at that moment – I just had to show him. I had to say what I couldn't say with my lips and my body, but I think he understood, because he mewled and bared his throat for me, and I reopened his bite at the same time I relaxed and let him inside, and the whole 'getting clean' part of the groom was completely lost as we just spent the morning getting dirty again.

Castiel and I dozed a little more after that before hunger and thirst hauled me out of the tent. He'd dealt me a whole new set of marks, from the freshly opened bite to my neck to the few bruises his hands had left behind on my hips. So I'd dressed myself up in the were-cat garb to cover the marks, and though the fabric felt foreign against my skin it made me feel less vulnerable as well. Less exposed.

I sat in front of our gathered packs. We'd almost doubled in numbers and I could feel it, feel all their gazes on me like a physical weight. Castiel sat next to me, one hand rubbing up and down my back slowly, lightly, his touch like the comfort I was afraid to ask for, but he gave anyway. Sam was on my other side and Gabriel perched in his lap as usual, dwarfed by my giant brother.

I wanted to tell them everything, but I had no idea where to even _start_. I think Lisa might have sensed this because she raised her hand and I met her eyes, and we shared a look – support and permission, asked for and received, and she smiled a little, lowering her hand again.

"Alpha, why are you wearing that?" she asked, gesturing at the robe on my body.

I smiled a little bit – this sort of thing I could answer. "Listen guys, last night, I was a little messed up." Castiel shifted closer to me, leaning his cheek on my shoulder. Sam, too, took my hand in his and rested it on the ground between us. I could feel their strength pouring into me, giving me what I needed to be able to keep up this major confession. "I had…recently discovered that I was pregnant, and lost the baby. That's what the blood on my legs was from."

The packs moved uneasily, whispering between themselves and I looked down – I knew this wouldn't go over well, would confuse them. The older members of the pack, though, were nodding along, because they would probably have remembered my father's birth, and his parents.

Bobby spoke up, and I swear I've never wanted to hug him so much in my life, but I kept myself down. He gave the same speech he'd given me about how when two males mate the body changes to allow procreation. It was hard to listen to, because again all I could think about was that this wasn't…_natural. _It still seemed like something out of a dark, twisted fairy tale.

"Has your body changed, Alpha?"

I blushed. "No. I just…" I fingered the hem of the clothing nervously, glad when Castiel wrapped his arm around my waist, silently supporting me. "I guess I just feel less exposed like this," I confessed, because in our pack we have no secrets. As Alpha I encourage all my wolves to come to me if they are having problems, and it would just be unfair to keep that as a one-way street, so I told them everything. Especially when the issue troubling me affected them as well. "I feel really bad about what's been happening, guys. I know none of you expected or asked for this and I kind of just sprung it on you, and it's been chaos here since Sam and I were captured, but I want to try and make it better."

I still hadn't looked up – I felt like I couldn't. I was too afraid to meet their eyes and see what they were thinking; in case it was something I didn't want to see.

Gabriel, to my surprise, spoke next. "I know you have _all _been talking," he said, looking at cat and wolf in equal measure. "The wolves feel like we're taking over – our numbers are higher and our Alpha is dominant over yours in their private life." I blushed again, looking away. "But you have to know that there is no such intention in our hearts – these unities are being formed out of affection and love. We are stronger together with mutual friendships and partnering than the two packs have ever been apart."

I looked over at him, surprised and grateful that he was speaking so plainly, and I realized just how blind I'd been – I had never even _thought _about what this would look like to the packs, how the cats were just moving in and how much larger we were now, and how much more aggressive most of the cats were over my wolves.

Sam moved a little, shifting his weight as he crossed his legs, leaning forward and meeting the packs' gazes. "Times are changing, guys. This could be the blessing we've been waiting for all this time – an example to set to the rest of the packs we've been trying to reach out to. Wolves and cats united as one."

I found myself smiling despite myself, and squeezed my brother's hand. He smiled back at me and I took a deep breath, meeting my packs' eyes again. "I know you'll all have questions and I will gladly answer, as honestly as I can without scarring the children." There were muted chuckles around the gathered weres. "Now is your chance."

There was a kind of silence for a moment, and I knew that kind of silence. It was the silence of a bunch of people wanting to ask questions, but being unwilling to be the first one to ask. Finally Lisa was the brave on again and I smiled over at her, nodding for her to speak; "Alpha, you said that you…had lost a baby…"

I swallowed, and nodded.

"Are you trying again?"

I took a deep breath and sighed, smiling a little more again. "Yes, Lisa, we are."

"So soon?" she asked, and this time, I watched her face. There was suspicion in her eyes, dark with worry and anxiety and I tilted my head to one side, confused at her expression. Castiel's hand moved around my side, fingertips just touching my stomach. "I mean…Alpha…" Her eyes flashed to Castiel, then back to me. "Are you sure?"

I frowned again. "Yes, Lisa," I said, putting a lot of emphasis into the words, and I saw her relax a little. Castiel nuzzled into my neck and I felt a little better, but the anxiety in her eyes didn't leave and I really needed to talk to her later, because Lisa was the closest wolf to me aside from Sam and Bobby and if something was troubling her then I wanted to know about it.

The rest of the day was lost in a whirl of questions, a lot of them personal and deep but I'd made a promise to answer as honestly as I possibly could. I was surprised when, reliving my dealings with Gordon, Anna raised her hand, brow furrowed.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Why didn't you just kill him?" she asked, and a few of the were-cats nodded around her. I could understand where she was coming from – Castiel had softened a little since we'd gotten together, but he was a badass mofo when he wanted to be, and I couldn't imagine him being so lenient with an insubordinate.

I sighed. "I don't want to be a tyrant. I hate that I can just put a little power into my voice and my pack _must _obey. I hate that my negative emotions mess them up as well. Wolves that don't agree with how I run things don't have to stay here, and I will not tolerate open hostility towards me, my pack or any future members." I looked over to Castiel, but he remained silent. "But I will not kill."

Anna cocked her head to one side and the other were-cats looked to each other for a moment, but my wolves were nodding in understanding and I felt a little better about it, because honestly…what if I'd made the wrong decision? What if I should have made it so that Gordon couldn't come back and cause more trouble? There's nothing I can do about it now but if, in the future, Gordon was responsible for damage or unease in my pack I'd never forgive myself.

I squeezed Sam's hand and he squeezed back, smiling a little. "We are very aware that there are differences between how we interact with each other," my brother said, meeting the eyes of the creatures in the front row. "With time, however, I think we'll be able to function like any other pack. Better even."

Gabriel and Castiel were nodding along, and once again I was overwhelmed with gratefulness that I had such a strong, stable four at the top of the packs, mated and bonded with love and strength. It's more than I could ever have hoped for and I couldn't quite believe I'd deserved it.

I don't really remember the rest – Sam, Cas and Gabriel fielded the rest of the questions and I didn't really pay attention to the answers they gave, nor the questions they received. Finally I felt a tugging on my arm and looked up to find Castiel holding my hand, standing next to me and watching me with a mix of concern and sympathy. I smiled weakly up at him, letting him haul me up.

"Alpha?" I turned to see Lisa approaching me. Her eyes flashed to Castiel before going back to me. "Can I speak with you? Alone?"

I looked over to Castiel, because the last time I had been alone with Lisa Castiel had been pissed, and had then fucked the life out of me. It had actually worked out pretty well for me (you know, the perverted side of me) but I didn't want to make a habit of pissing him off for some angry intense sex. He watched my face for a long time before he smiled, stepping closer and slanting his lips over mine in a brief but deep kiss, departing with a bite and lick to my lower lip. I shivered a little, wanting to follow him when he pulled away and felt him chuckle against my temple.

"I'll see you later," he said with a slow drag of his nails down my spine.

Lisa's small giggle broke me out of my little trance and I blushed when I realized I'd just been watching Castiel go. God, I was so head over heels…but it _is _nice watching him leave. Anyway, back to the story… I turned to her and watched as she bit her lip, a smile on her face but a darkness of anxiety in her eyes.

"What's up, Lisa?" I asked, gesturing towards her tent and we walked in that direction, our eyes on the floor. It was the uncomfortable kind of silence that made me sure she was about to bring up a subject that I wasn't gonna like.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's just…seems really soon, Alpha," she said, turning towards me as we reached the opening of her tent. "I mean…don't you need time to recover?" She reached a hand out and placed it on my shoulder. "I don't want him forcing you into anything."

"He's not forcing me, Lisa," I replied with a frown, pushing her hand away from me. She bit her lip, watching me carefully. "I mean it. We both want this."

"I just -."

"No," I said, raising a hand. I knew what she was going to say. "I get it, you're just looking out to me, but look – Castiel's already so uptight about how we just started out of force, and I don't need anyone else thinking that this is some twisted dominating relationship, that I'm not my own person and can make my own decisions on whether to agree or disagree with Castiel's way of doing things or thinking."

"Alpha -."

"I know, Lisa." I smiled at her. "Just…trust me? I want this." I lowered my hand, rubbing absently at my stomach, the fabric coarse on my palm but soft against my body. I looked down, and when I looked back up at her she was smiling. "What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"I've never seen you like this before, Dean," she said softly, her smile growing. "It suits you. You're going to be a good father to whatever children you and Castiel bring into the world."

I swallowed. "Thank you, Lisa."

She jerked her head to one side. "Go make a baby with your mate," she said with a grin, and I blushed and shoved playfully at her as I left, practically running to my tent where I knew Castiel would be waiting for me.

He raised an eyebrow when I came in, and didn't hesitate. I was in his lap and kissing him senseless within moments. He chuckled against the skin of my jaw. "What's this about?" he asked, thumbing along the edge of the clothing I wore where it ran under my shoulder blade.

I shook my head, smiling. "Nothing. I just love you," I said, hooking my hands around the back of his neck and dragging my lips across him. He 'hmm'ed against me, running his hands down my back, pulling at the corner of fabric under my arm that kept one half down and, by extension, the other. I shivered when his hot palms spread across my body, heating my skin, and mewled when he nosed my head to one side, opposite where the bite lay, and he bared his teeth, serration catching against the tendon.

"I love you too," he murmured, spreading his legs a little so I was braced against his thighs, open and vulnerable and I loved it, unable to move unless he let me, and I moaned softly into his kiss when his fingers dipped lower, fingertips a blunt pressure against my entrance. I rocked my hips, trying to get him deeper, and he chuckled. "Not yet, Dean."

"_Cas,_" I begged, _"please…_"

He chuckled again, the bastard, and lifted his hand to push two fingers into my mouth, and I slicked them up as quickly as I could, wanting him inside of me, like, yesterday. It seemed like…now that we were _making _something with this, I wanted him more than ever. I mean yeah, sex with Castiel is _unbelievable, _but now…I don't know – there was just a whole new level of intensity to it now.

He pulled his fingers away and I whined when I felt his finger start to push into me, resting my forehead against his neck. I was trembling, clutching desperately at him to try and ground myself as he pushed his first finger all the way in, crooking it and dragging along my prostate. I cried out, seizing up in his grip, holding to him so desperately, I felt like he was pulling me apart and holding me together at the same time.

"Shh, Dean," he murmured, kissing along my jaw and neck as he pushed the second finger in, stretching me out so that I could take more of him. I bared my teeth, pressing them against his neck, fingers digging into the sides of his spine like I knew he liked. "I've got you."

When he slid in, it was kind of rushed because of my impatience, but I didn't mind. The delicious burn of getting filled so completely was heaven, and when Castiel held me close to him and thrust his hips up, not letting me move but simply taking care of me, I moaned and whined and probably howled a little – I don't know what it was about Castiel that made me so vocal, but it was like I the silence couldn't contain what I was feeling, so I had to break it. Castiel rolled me onto my back, petting through my hair as he set up a rhythm – one that was _amazing, _dragging along that spot inside of me that set my world alight every stroke, the thrusts ending almost jarringly to make sure my whole body felt him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, spurring him on and pulling him in, sealing our lips together so that we would swallow each other's sounds.

Castiel's hand wormed between us, wrapping around my cock and I jerked in his hand, driven crazy by the two sensations, unable to follow just one. I clenched tightly around Castiel, wanting to feel him come inside of me, wanting to be filled up.

"Fuck, _Castiel, _please…" I threw my head back, baring my throat and he bit down, a new bite, a harder one, and I cried out, releasing into his hand and spilling all over my stomach while I clawed at him. I could feel warm wetness between my fingers and scent told me that it wasn't just sweat. "God_damn_it."

He chuckled, slowing himself so that he was just rocking into me. He hadn't come yet – his cock was thick and full still, lazily dragging along my insides, and I whined, drawing away so that I could see his face.

"I don't want you to think I'm forcing you, you know," he said, and I blinked up at him. _How _could he have possibly known about that? He cocked his head to one side. "My cats are here too, Dean. I can hear everything."

"Okay, first of all? Not cool," I said, jabbing a finger into his chest semi-playfully, "and secondly, I don't think you are, Cas. I want this, _you _want this." He shook his head slightly and I rolled my eyes, smiling a little. "Besides, you've already bred with me twice in the past day. It's not like I haven't been willing."

"You were willing before, too," he murmured.

"Cas." I took his head in my hands and drew our faces together, so his forehead rested against mine, and I relaxed around him so that I wouldn't have to hold my legs around his waist, and let my shoulders fall so I could feel the furs against my skin, and he had to lean forward and therefore rock more deeply into me. "Stop thinking like this. I want you, I love you, and I want to have this with you."

He smiled, the curve of his lips just brushing against mine. "Okay."

"Are we on the same page?" I asked. He nodded. "Good, now..." I bucked my hips up, clenching tightly, and he hissed at me, jaw locked with the urge to resist his orgasm. "Make love to me, Cas."

And he leant down and pressed his lips against my neck, building up his rough, fast pace again until I felt him still, and fill me up, warm and liquid, and he didn't pull out for a long while. I held him and pet him through his orgasm, and laid next to him when he was finished and spent, barely able to hold himself up. I kissed him and practically ordered him to go to sleep, and he did with a slight smile and a roll of his eyes – but he needed it, so he relented, and I cradled him close to my body and waited until he fell asleep.

Then I went out to find Sam.


	19. Chapter 19

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

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**So this idea kind of bitchslapped me, and since I'm going away Thursday and Friday (and Saturday, apparently o.O) I figured I should write it now xD ALSO, I was rereading Instinct ('cause I do that sometimes) and I realized I had set up for Jo to have a daughter then she had a son…um…*shrugs* I got nothin'. It's a baby Dean now! *jumps***

**Okay…I liked the chapter and then it got crappy, semi-good again, and then I just HATE how it ended. I mean, what happens I wanted to happen, but how I wrote it? *headdesk* I'm sorreh D= *slinks away to her corner*

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The night was bitterly cold, startlingly so in fact when I stepped out of the warmth of my and Castiel's tent, shivering at the chill brushing against my skin, raising goose bumps. I watched my breath fall to the ground for a moment before lifting my head, inhaling to try and find Sam – a scent I could follow. I could sense a general uneasiness in the air and it wasn't from me, so I just wanted to make sure everything was alright.

I found him on the burned-out shell of the building where the children and I had been during the disease. I would have admonished him for it, but the disease was probably burned away by now and he looked…well, kind of stricken. The moon was almost new at this time of the month and so I couldn't see him very well – just a sliver of skin illuminated among the bits of rock that hadn't crumbled in the fire, and the shade of the overhanging tree branches.

"Sammy?" I asked, and he looked up as I approached, relaxing from the crouched stance he'd taken. I didn't smell tears in the air and there weren't any on his face, and there wasn't blood either, so I relaxed a little – he couldn't be _that _upset, then. "You okay in here, little brother?"

I sat down next to him and he sprawled out, legs stretching out in front of him as he slouched against what had been the corner of the building. I sat next to him so we were facing the same direction, so he wouldn't have to look me in the eye while we talked because I knew sometimes that brought a kind of intensity that we couldn't deal with. Secrets and doubts and fears were sometimes best shared in the dark, where we are all a little bit braver.

Sam took a deep breath, pulling one leg up and pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, eyes clenched shut. I could feel the anxiety pouring off of him. "Seriously, man, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?"

Sam sighed, turning his head towards me and I leaned my head away when he rested his forehead against my shoulder, bending my injured arm up to pet through his shaggy hair and smiling when he relaxed a little against me.

"I just…" He swallowed, rubbing a little at his neck. I tilted my head to try and see what he was touching, but there was nothing there. I frowned.

"Hasn't he bitten you yet?" I asked, confused as to why there was no mark on his neck – it was the preferred space because it was easy and quick to see, the fastest way to make sure someone knew that a wolf (or cat) was off limits.

Sam chuckled dryly, stretching his legs out again. "Yeah, he did. Here." He sat up a little and bore his skin to me, showing me the bite, and I nodded, relaxing a little then because while it got rid of one reason for my brother's distress, it just brought up more questions. "It's just…" He paused. "Gabriel wants children, Dean," he whispered.

I paused for a moment, despite the fact that I was inwardly jumping for joy (but I'll deny it if anyone asks, just so you know), because I knew that wasn't just the reason Sam was freaking out. I reached out and put a hand across his shoulders, holding him until he was ready to tell me more.

"He wants me to have them, because he doesn't think it would work with him. He thinks he's too old and it might just be a werewolf thing because the cats have never had anything like this happen before and…"

He fell silent for a moment and I waited, counting to ten in my head before the silence became officially too long, and I felt like I needed to give some input; "Is that why you're worried? Because he wants you to have them, or that he wants to have them at all?" Sam snorted and shook his head. "So you want kids with Gabriel?" He nodded. "Then what's the problem, Sammy?"

"It's just…" He sat up, rubbing his neck again. "He wants to put a damn collar on me."

I couldn't help it – I laughed, resting my head back against the broken beam I was leaning against. He fixed me with a little brother 'bitchface'. "I don't see what's so funny."

"Sammy…" I shook my head, trying to stop myself laughing and failing miserably. "That's kind of their _thing. _It's what were-cats do when they're trying to procreate."

"But it's so…_public," _Sam replied, hesitating over the word as though it wasn't quite the one he wanted to say. "I mean, all the cats would know we were trying and…what if…" He sighed again, shaking his head. "You wouldn't get it."

"What wouldn't I get?" I asked, but he just shook his head again. "What – I wouldn't get that you wouldn't want all that pressure, wouldn't want to let him down?" He turned to me with a kind of surprised look and I smiled sardonically. "I've been there, Sammy. Hell, I'm still there. I mean…there are so many things we don't know about this type of thing…but you've just gotta take the leap of faith, Sammy. I don't think this would be stupid enough to let _me _have kids, but not you."

"But you're the Alpha, Dean…it's kind of your job to have kids."

"Still," I said firmly, ignoring the little sour taste in my mouth when Sam referred to having children as a 'job', as a duty to just be tackled and taken care of. I was kind of getting sick of people telling me that story and looking at the situation like that. I sat back from him, squeezing the shoulder nearest to me and meeting his eyes, my own full of sincerity; "I think you should go for it. Gabriel would understand if it doesn't work…"

"But Dean…a freaking _collar, _man. That's just weird."

I laughed. "Maybe you can convince him to go smaller…like the rings mom and dad used to wear. I'm sure we could have some made or whatever," I said, shrugging a little because I was just tossing ideas out there, but from the way he slowly started to smile, I figured it couldn't have been a half-bad idea.

There was another pause. "That's not all that was troubling you, was it?" I asked.

He sighed. "That was the big thing, but it was the other thing he said…He said he was too old. I mean…" He paused a little – really, this conversation was just full of pauses, and it felt awkward, like I was treading ice around my little brother and I hadn't had to do that since I had to tell him that mom wasn't coming back. "How old do you think Castiel is, Dean?"

I blinked. I hadn't really thought about it – it didn't bother me. I wanted to say that he couldn't be much older than I was, but I knew that that wasn't true – just because he looked physically less than thirty-five didn't mean he was. Hell, he'd _told _me that he had lived for centuries, and when we'd been at the were-cat camp – Sam and I – we'd felt the power and age of their colony deep in our bones. My pack was children compared to them. I shrugged. "I don't know."

Sam sighed, shaking his head. "How old are we, Dean? You're thirty now…I'm only twenty-six. I wouldn't be surprised if Gabriel was a hundred times that amount. A thousand."

"Sam," I gasped, shocked, because that wasn't possible. "Sammy, yes, it's true that were-cats live longer, but the disease that caused this only spread a few hundred years ago. The cats can't be older than that."

"Have you ever thought that maybe things like us existed before humans, or at the same time as them?" Sam asked quietly, and I could tell that he had been thinking about this for quite a while – it didn't surprise me. Sam always seemed to think of things that never once crossed my mind. He made a good Beta like that. "Think about it, Dean…we were dormant. At least, our great-great-grandparents were dormant. What about those that weren't? What about those that were already here when the disease was first created?" He turned to look at me. "Castiel and Gabriel could be older than humanity itself, Dean."

"And that scares you?"

"It's just…" He bit his lip, looking so young and lost, and turned away. "It's a lot to take in, Dean. We're practically babies to them. I don't understand it."

I sighed, wishing I had answers, wishing I could comfort Sam because he was my _brother, _and I should have these sorts of things thought out and planned for. I should be able to give him answers when he's feeling so lost and scared but I couldn't, and I hated that. All I could do was hug him and let him think in his own head, or talk to me – anything, it didn't matter. I was no longer tired and the other needs of my body could wait for now – Sammy was my priority.

"Alpha wolf?"

The voice was soft and barely audible over the sound of my brother's tightly controlled breathing, but I lifted my head from where I'd buried it in his neck, just breathing in his skin, and looked out in the general direction of the whispered, hesitant question.

There was a flash of soft blonde hair and a pale face that sharpened when I focused to give shape to Jo. I blinked, surprised at her, and then pressed my forehead against Sam's cheek, pushing him away from leaning on me. He went but I could _feel _him pouting, the clingy pup, and I ruffled his hair as I stood up, placing a light kiss to his forehead before I did so. "I'll be back, alright, Sammy?" He nodded.

"What do you need, Jo?" I asked her once we'd walked together for a short while, away from anyone who might eavesdrop. The were-cat bit her lip, fidgeting with the edge of her forest green robe as she looked down, and I caught her chin in my hand and lifted her head. "Seriously, what do you need?"

"I…" She blushed a little, looking down, and I cocked my head, curious at her behavior. "I understand that wolves…have a different way of approaching relationships than cats, and I just wanted to do it right." I raised an eyebrow at her but kept silent, waiting for her to get out whatever she wanted to say; "Well, I mean, I talked to the Beta and he said this is how you do it so…"

My head tilted the other way, conclusions coming together in my mind. "Jo, do you want to court someone in my pack?" If possible, she blushed even redder.

I was surprised – I mean, I get that cats of the lower classes – I hated that term but it's the best one I could think of – didn't get emotionally attached or mated very often but _still. _She'd just had a baby. Surely she wanted…recovery time?

I wouldn't know.

She bit her lip and nodded again, and I smiled. "Jo, as long as the attentions are welcome and wanted, you don't need to fear asking permission from me. Who is it, may I ask?" She looked down and mumbled the name and I bent lower – she was almost a foot shorter than me – "Can you repeat that?"

"Lisa," she replied, her eyes flashing to mine.

"Lisa?" I repeated, more shocked than anything else and Jo smiled a little, looking down.

"Yeah…it's just that, she's been helping me take care of the baby and she's just really sweet and nice…and I know she might not feel the same way but if there's a shot then I want to do it right and…well…this is how you do it so…"

I smiled down at her. "Jo, by all means court Lisa, with my blessing and permission. If you think you two could be happy then by all means, go for it. I think you two can use each other for support and comfort, and I wouldn't have it any other way." She blushed once more and did a little awkward bow – which I didn't correct because I had a feeling the poor girl had suffered from enough awkwardness and embarrassment for several lifetimes.

When I went back to the hollow shell of the building, Sam wasn't there anymore, but the next day I saw him holding and kissing Gabriel with a giant smile on his face, so I figured whatever problems they'd had, they'd managed to sort out.

We managed to make it three weeks before drama started up again. Luckily, I can say it wasn't a bad kind of drama. At least, not from my point of view.

Castiel and I were eating lunch three weeks later, after a particularly fruitful hunt, combining both werewolf and were-cat techniques into a deadly mix that I had to say worked like a charm. Between our speed and their stealth we were practically unstoppable.

"Cas?" I asked, poking around the remains of a cooking fire and I felt his eyes on me. "How old are you? Really?" It was a subject that, while it didn't _bother _me, per say, but it did make me curious. Castiel would _know _things – have seen things that I could never even fathom, and I wanted to learn.

He sighed gently, setting his piece of deer meat down. "You spoke to Gabriel?"

"Sam, actually," I replied, a little annoyed that it kept seeming like everyone was in on the joke and I wasn't – Castiel had eyes everywhere, was always watching and it got to me every now and again. I grimaced a little, rubbing my stomach as I'd been feeling kind of queasy recently. Gabriel thought I might have a bug and prescribed me some weird herb that helped a little, but didn't stop the nausea for long or completely. "He had a little freak out about Gabriel's age. It got me wondering."

Castiel paused for a moment, contemplating me, and then he stood up, walking around the fire and sitting down right next to me, leaning in as though his age was a big, grand secret. "I will be four-thousand-one-hundred-and-sixty-one years later this season," he murmured, and I gasped, because I'd been thinking of a number but not quite…_that _big.

"Well," I said, trying to joke and failing, I'm pretty sure. "You know what they say about getting to quad digits."

Castiel cocked his head to one side. "What do they say?"

"Fuck, Cas, I have no idea," I said, laughing again, kind of nervously as I rubbed at my stomach, feeling that queasiness return. "No one I know's ever gotten that far." I felt kind of dizzy suddenly, and had time to wonder if the meat I'd eaten was bad (wouldn't that just be a wonderful trick of irony/twisted stab of fate) before I was leaning away from Castiel, emptying my stomach onto the ground below me. There wasn't much as I'd only just started my meal but it was unpleasant nonetheless, burning my throat on the exit as I leaned close to the ground to reduce splatter (because vomit is the smell that sticks forever).

"Dean? Dean!" I could hear Castiel's voice, but I couldn't actually lift my head enough to respond before another wave of nausea forced me back down. I reached back and found his hand and he squeezed, the other running along my back. I heard him distantly calling to get Gabriel and Sam, and then scurrying and the ripping sound of wolves going into their canine forms and speeding away.

"Dean?" I moaned low after another wave hit me, feeling a little lightheaded and the smell was probably _not _helping me at all. "Listen to me – are you in any pain?" I shook my head. "Is this a sudden onset?" I shook my head again and heard Castiel's exasperated sigh. "Why don't you ever _tell _me when you're feeling sick?"

I'm sure I could have managed a snappy comeback, but the nausea was receding and I didn't want to piss off my stomach anymore, so I stayed still, breathing raggedly through my mouth. The stench got my gag reflex a little, but apparently three weeks of fucking each other senseless does wonderful things to getting rid of the gag reflex, so I managed to keep the rest of my meal down. When water was thrust under my face I drank and swigged gratefully, washing my mouth out and spitting onto the growing puddle before moving away from it, grimacing at the smell and sight.

"Dean, are you okay?"

"What's going on?"

"He's -."

"- I know."

"Is he alright?"

"What happened?"

Too many voices all at once, and it was kind of just giving me a headache and making me feel even worse. I could feel warm hands tugging me away from the throng, towards the shade of the trees and their cool shadow felt good on my fevered skin. I sighed gently when a wet washcloth was pressed to my forehead.

"Why doesn't he ever _say _when he's sick?"

"He doesn't get sick that often, you know."

"What, he's just stupid enough to think this is _healthy?_"

"Guys," I protested weakly, waving at Castiel, Gabriel and Sam where they were kneeling/standing/perching beside me, keeping my eyes closed to stop the world spinning. "I'm fine. Gabriel gave me something for the nausea. It's just a bug."

"You've been nauseous for…how long, Dean?"

"Um…" I frowned, trying to think. "A couple weeks?"

A pause.

A longer pause.

A really fucking long pause.

"What I gave you won't help for this kind of bug," Gabriel said, his voice filled with something I couldn't identify. I opened my eyes to meet the Healer's. He was kind-of-smiling, eyes a mix of serious and bright. I frowned at the weird combination. Gabriel turned towards Castiel, placing his hand on the other cat's shoulder and squeezing slightly, and then he looked back at me.

"Looks like you two are going to be fathers."


	20. Chapter 20

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Talks of miscarriage. Also, I'm sorry for the epic Twilight-ness of this scene *headdesk* but seriously, it just came out that way. I didn't mean for it to, but it did and…*sighs and slinks away* Hopefully it's more badass and better-written than that abortion of a book. *is also kind of ashamed because she was once a Twihard. She's matured since then. Slinks to corner*

Dean's about two months pregnant now. If that's enough to show I'm ignoring it – he has no outward symptoms so far besides morning sickness and weird cravings, which are not mentioned in this chapter.

Um…vulnerable!bottom!Cas (I know, right? He can make up for it with OTT Alphaness next chapter). Dean freaking out and then a complete change of mood? *headdesk*

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I was pregnant.

Fucking _pregnant._

Like…holy crap, there's a parasite _living inside of me _right now. Something that's going to get bigger and bigger and swell up and cause a whole hell of a mess and make me eat twice as much of everything and eventually be so effing heavy I can't stand up right or move around much, and God Sam is going to laugh his ass off when he finds out and _holy shit I'm pregnant. _

If you can't tell I was freaking out a little, well…

It's not that I didn't _want _this. I mean, Castiel and I had been trying for weeks and now I was pregnant. That was kind of the end point, am I right? Well, yeah, but I just…hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. I'd thought I would have more time about it. More time for things to settle and to sort everything out.

Turns out the packs had been doing a swell job during my intermittent freak-outs. Everything seemed to be running smoothly. We'd had to cut down on food rations, just for a while, because winter was coming (like a bitch) and food was growing more scarce, and our numbers had more than doubled, so we had to be more careful about everything, but other than that…it was fantastic.

Stepford fantastic - (That was a movie or something back when humans were alive, right?) I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"You're being silly," Castiel said, lying down next to me, his chest to my back as he wrapped an arm around my middle and entangled his legs with mine, locking me in with his body heat, and I sighed and relaxed, snuggling back to get closer to him. He nuzzled into my neck, his warm palm splaying over my slightly grown stomach – well, he said it hadn't grown, but I was convinced. It was kind of the point of this conversation.

"I'm gonna get huge," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose tightly and then rubbing my forehead, and I sighed. "I totally didn't think this through."

A pause, and I felt Castiel's eyelashes blink against the back of my neck. "I thought you said you wanted this," he murmured after a moment, thumb running along my stomach, just under my belly button.

I snorted. "Of course I wanted this, Cas…I just…it's really fast. You have, like, super-sperm or something," I joked, wanting to make him laugh, to get rid of the tension in the tent that I knew was mostly my fault. It worked – he chuckled softly.

"I think it has more to do with frequency than power," he replied with a light teasing in his tone, and I flushed, because over the past weeks since Gabriel had told me I was pregnant I'd kind of been, well, a bit of a slut for him. The thought of making a baby with Castiel – that whole speech about love and making something out of it – had just flipped a switch inside of me and it was like I _needed _to do it. Maybe it was the Alpha survival instinct or something, but I just _had _to have Castiel, all the time, until I was pregnant with his child. The insecurities and fear of losing this one too, or of letting him down, hadn't left. Not even a little bit, but Castiel had gotten good at telling when I was about to freak out and calming me down before it could get seriously big.

"Yeah," I agreed after a moment, "we've kind of been going at it like rabbits."

He snorted. "Or swamp rats."

I turned, surprised at the different turn of phrase. "How often to swamp rats mate?"

Castiel bit the inside of his lip for a moment, eyes bright with amusement, and then replied; "About as much as we have." I rolled my eyes and punched his arm lightly, muttering that he was an asshole, but he just laughed, the smug bastard, and curled up even closer to me, resting his head on my chest once he'd turned me onto my back, staring down at where his hand was.

"I can't believe we made something like this," he said, voice low and awed as he pushed himself up so he was leaning over me, meeting my eyes. "This is a great thing you're doing, Dean."

I flushed. "Don't get too excited," I warned him, but couldn't stop myself covering his hand with mind, stroking my skin with my thumb. "We don't even know if it's, like, going to make it." I didn't want to think about it, but it was a possibility – so many things can go wrong in the early stages. Between me and my brother my mom had lost two other children. This one might not make it and though I didn't even want to _go there, _I knew I had to accept it as something that _could _happen.

Castiel's eyes darkened for a moment. "I will not let that happen," he murmured, leaning down so his lips ghosted over mine. I parted mine to let him in but he didn't deepen it. I could taste his exhale. "If necessary I will take you far away and lock you up in a cave. I will keep you away from anything and everything that would do you harm."

I rolled my eyes, playing along; "What if the cave collapsed on me?"

"I would keep you safe with my own body first."

"Okay…Poisonous animals?"

"Let them try."

I rolled my eyes again. "You can't protect me from everything, Cas," I said, trying to reason with him, and I carded my free hand through his hair, grinning when I felt the vibrations against my chest where his own rested, knowing he was purring under my touch. He 'hmm'ed gently, still stroking my stomach lightly. "I mean it." I fisted my hand in his hair, forcing him to raise his head and look at me, and meet my eyes. "I'm still going to do stupid shit, you know, and yeah, of course I'll be more careful, but I'm not just going to hide myself away. I have a pack that needs me."

Castiel's eyes searched mine for a long while; "I think you'd like being chained down," he said after a short pause, smirking just a little, and I rolled my eyes again, pushing him away so I could sit up. His hands were at my shoulders immediately, helping and supporting my back.

"For God's sake, Cas, I'm not an invalid."

"No, you're a vessel," he replied, wrapping his arms around me from behind, his body acting as my backbone and I sighed, letting him support me for a moment because it kind of _did _feel nice. "You're a sacred, impossible blessing that I'm lucky enough to receive, and I'm not going to let it go to waste."

He nuzzled into my throat again, the serration on his teeth just catching along my bite mark, and I shivered. "You're such a sweet-talker," I growled at him, and I was meaning to make it sound threatening and warning but it kind of came out as a breathy whine, which I _so _was not going for.

He 'hmm'ed once more, his hands splaying over my stomach, and even without looking at his face I could tell he was smiling. His joy was infectious, honestly it was – I felt it like his body heat, just radiating out from him, and the packs did too. I'd never seen anyone smiling so much in my life. It was almost creepy, everyone was so happy.

"Cas…" I trailed off, not wanting to bring it up, but honestly it had been bothering me over the past few weeks since Castiel had told me his age. _He's over four thousand years old, for God's sake. _I heard him grunt softly, turning his face into my neck, and knew I had his attention. I was suddenly glad I couldn't see his face when I asked; "How long to were-cats live?"

He paused for a second, and then drew his face away, resting it instead on my shoulder. I could catch a glimpse of his chin and nose and a tease of his bright blue eyes out of the corner of my gaze, but didn't turn my head because pregnancy had made me a bit of a coward.

"Depends," he finally muttered, drawing back so he could press him lips to the meaty part of my shoulder, his hands beginning to wander like I knew they did when he had something _other _than talking on his mind, and my breath hitched, my body instantly responding to him.

But I knew what he was trying to do – distract me. It made me even more determined to get my questions answered. Sometimes the most important answers are the ones that you don't want to hear. "Depends on what?"

"On how good they are at living," he replied dryly, one hand reaching down to tease along the line where my leg became my hip, where he knew I was sensitive, and I shivered, spreading my legs a little wider and not even giving a crap about how that made me look.

_"Cas." _His name was like a plea and a warning at once.

He sighed heavily – I could feel his chest expand and release against my back, and suddenly I was lying on my back, and he was hovering over me, staring deeply into my eyes. I was almost afraid to hold his gaze and after a while I couldn't – because his stares are freaking potent, have you not figured that out by now?

"We can live infinitely long lives," he said after a moment, his gaze breaking from mine so they could wander down my body, away from my face like he was ashamed of it. "The oldest cat I know is close to five digits."

I blew out a breath. "_Shit, _Cas," I replied, at a loss of what else to say. Cas was _old _and he'd continue to be old, well after I was dead and gone, after our children were… "So what happens when I die?"

His eyes flashed back to mine. "I intend to follow right after."

"Cas -."

"No Dean, do not try and change my mind." He sat up, jaw set, his fingers tracing lightly over my stomach – it was almost tickling when the roughs of his fingertips dragged along my sensitive skin. "I have lived a very long time and seen things you cannot even imagine. I've watched civilizations rise and fall and rise and fall again, and I've watched our peoples evolve, die and grow all over again." He looked at my face once more. "I've seen people I love, people close to me, die. I've seen my brothers fall in love with mates who've not lived as long as they have, and it's crippling, Dean. Imagine losing your soul-mate – a part of _yourself, _because they _are _you – and still having to live despite the fact that you can't feel them anymore. Can't hold or touch or kiss them again, or feel their heartbeat or listen to their breathing or laugh with them, cry with them…love them." I swallowed, feeling tears building up behind my eyes. Damn pregnancy was making me hormonal (and I'm totally blaming the pregnancy, okay?). "Imagine that feeling, and then imagine it stretching over half a millennia." He leaned forward again, bracing his hands on the pelts I was laying on, either side of my face. His eyes were shining brightly and they looked wet. "Don't ask me to do it, Dean. By the time you pass, we will both have lived long and fruitful lives. Our great grandchildren will be the Alphas of our united packs. Don't ask me to live on without you, and watch them die too. There's only so many times one soul can die."

I couldn't take it anymore. I reached up and kissed him. I kissed him as harshly as I dared, with as much love and emotion as I could get into it. I'd never thought about it…I'd never even…Again, I find myself lost for words, trying to write down this story, and I just can't describe it. I felt like I was seeing Castiel's soul, the very basic thing that made him _him, _and I couldn't resist it, and I didn't want to resist it. He was hurting and he needed comforting and _damn it, _I could be the one to give him that.

I rolled us over so that he was on his back, and his lips tasted like salt as he clung to me, like he was holding on for dear life. I'd never seen him like this before – to be honest I was kind of stumped as to what to do, but I think I recovered pretty quickly. I knew how Castiel always made me feel loved and wanted again when I needed strength and comfort.

I leaned down, kissing past his lips to his jaw and just under his ear, licking along his bite and up until I could feel the fine hairs above his ear tickling my cheek and the side of my face. "I'm going to make love to you, Cas," I whispered, feeling how he shivered underneath me. "Can I do this for you?"

He paused, and for a moment I thought he was going to refuse. I would understand if he did. Playing the part of 'catcher'…it's intense, and you feel so vulnerable sometimes, like your lover can see and feel everything about you, knows everything you're trying to keep hidden and it's sometimes too much. Sometimes you just want to hide but you can't because they're _right there, _up close and personal and there's nowhere _to _run.

But he didn't refuse me. He nodded, swallowing, and I felt his shaky exhale against my neck as he moved his body, wrapping his arms around my torso and letting his legs fall to either side of my hips, framing them and keeping me in.

"Don't strain yourself," he said in a voice that was rough with tears, and I chuckled, kissing him deeply, passionately. I let him control our mouths, knowing he would need _something. _He's an insanely dominant person and to be honest I'm surprised he even let me roll him over so that I was on top. For being so aggressive and dominant, he's also so vulnerable, and sometimes it's hard for even me to see that. Sometimes I forget that he's not superhuman (technically. You know what I mean).

I kept kissing him, only breathing the air he gave me because I couldn't bear to draw away for even a second. It seemed like if I stopped touching him for the slightest amount of time, this would shatter. I wanted to love Castiel like he loved me, show him just how much I wanted and needed and appreciated him.

It had been a long time since I'd topped anyone male, but it's like riding a bicycle. (Heh. Never mind). I opened him up slowly, only able to use spit, and even then just a small amount because, like I mentioned before, I couldn't _stop _kissing him if I tried. When I found his prostate, he damn well let me know it, making a choked off little-moaning sound, halfway between a mewl and a yowl into my mouth and I swallowed it down, muffled it with my lips, and his fingers clawed at me so gently but so desperately, still afraid of hurting me because he's so damn overprotective and very aware of his own strength, and it's kind of endearing, really.

I made him come twice before I even finally claimed him, wanting him to be so relaxed and open for me, because I didn't want to hurt him. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Castiel had been a virgin before this – I couldn't imagine him letting _anyone _close to him like this, and the power trip it gave me was only outweighed by the sheer, ungodly amounts of love and devotion I felt for him (again, blaming the pregnancy for the mood swings) when I watched him watching me, staring up at me with parted lips, flushed cheeks and sweaty brow, with this light and this knowledge in his eyes that he seemed to finally _understand. _Understand what I was getting at, understand _me _and _us, _and I hadn't even known there was anything to sort out but he looked like he's just reached enlightenment, and it was because of _me. _

Briefly I wondered if I would end up getting him pregnant, as I stilled inside of him, filling him up as he came by my hand for the third time. _That _would certainly be an interesting…well, it would be interesting. I couldn't see this as being a repeat performance. Already Castiel was getting his cool back, sliding away from the sticky, sweat-slicked bear pelt and dragging me over to a cleaner one, grooming both himself and me at the same time with rough, kittenish licks of his tongue and broad sweeping swipes of his damn palm.

It would take more than brief vulnerability to ruffle Castiel's feathers.

"I love you," I said after a moment, when my heartbeat wasn't like a jackknife anymore and we were almost half-clean. I took his face in my hands, nuzzling against him in an Eskimo kiss, but nothing deeper than that, and he smiled, eyes crinkling around the corners.

"I love you too, Dean," he replied, and kissed me chastely on the lips, then ducked down to place a light kiss to my stomach. "And I love you, little man. Or girl." And he looked up at me, smiling still, and winked, and I just smiled back at him. He met my lips once more in a soft, chaste kiss. "Thank you, Dean, for doing this for me."

I chuckled. "Not like I had a choice," I joked quietly, nuzzling back into him.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Right, 'cause the conception was _totally _one-sided."

I pushed him playfully, and he fell over. And then I ran for it, laughing all the while because I was determined to enjoy my freedom before Castiel caught me and actually made good on his threat. Somehow I had the feeling that that whole 'seal you in a cave' thing had only been half-joking.


	21. Chapter 21

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. I'm, like, dying of fluff here, people. I really want to be evil. There were so many things I could have done here to be evil but I WOULDN'T because I PROMISED. THERE WILL BE ANGST as soon as my Muse crawls out of her happy hole. I think the other fics I've been writing have angsted me out :/ Possibly. *shrugs and slinks away*

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I'll admit it; I kind of felt smug when Castiel woke up the next morning, tried to stand up, and grimaced in discomfort. Not that I wished any pain on my mate, but bottoming was a sore business, especially the first time, no matter how gentle the other half is. Getting a taste of his own medicine could only be a humbling and beneficial experience for him.

He caught my smirk and rolled his eyes. "You're such an ass sometimes, Dean," he said fondly, reaching down and ruffling my hair, and I shook my head, pushing him away. I flipped him off and rolled onto my stomach, pulling a bear fur around me because it was still early – not yet dawn – and I was going to get me some sleep. Hey, I had to actually take care of myself now.

Castiel seemed to agree – he 'hmm'ed softly and placed a kiss to my cheek, brushing a hand through my hair. "I'll see you later," he said, standing.

"Bring food."

I didn't hear his reply.

When Castiel came back, I was awake, and I looked up to see him enter the tent with a kind of bemused expression on his face. "It appears you wolves have different courting methods than we do," he said with a slight smile, sitting down next to me, but I wasn't really concentrating because he was holding a _bigass _slab of meat in his hands along with some vegetables. I licked my lips, eyes focused on the meat and he rolled his eyes, handing it to me.

It was slightly cooked, pink in the middle but brown on the edges, and I moaned, biting into the deer steak and feeling the juice and blood run down my chin. I wiped my chin after the first bite and caught Castiel watching me.

"Sorry," I said, waving at him. "Go."

Castiel rolled his eyes, an affectionate smile on his face. "I was just approached by that Lisa woman, and she asked me if it would be okay to court Jo." I paused. "I said 'Yes', of course."

"Yeah, Jo asked me a while ago," I said, shrugging. "I said it was okay, but I honestly…well, I was kind of blindsided by it," I confessed. "I wouldn't have thought that…"

"Relationships can sometimes be based on trust and affection, you know," Castiel said dryly, and I flushed, biting into the meat again to avoid having to give a snappy comeback. Then he shifted, folding his legs up his chest, wrapping his arms around his shins. "That wasn't the…only thing," he said softly.

"Another one?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Honestly, the unions between our packs were going way better than I could have ever imagined – friendships, family units were being formed at a weirdly fast rate. I could go outside and see Hunting parties of wolves and cats in equal measure. Some of the cats had taken to going _au natural_ as the wolves did, while I could see some wolves taking to wearing the cat's clothing. The children could be seen wrestling and playing with each other.

Castiel nodded, lips pursing. "In fact, they're waiting outside to ask you, if you're willing to hear them out." I cocked my head to one side, wondering why Castiel would even tell them to wait. "It's…unorthodox."

"Come on, Cas, let them in. I'm sure I can handle it," I said, grinning, and he sighed lightly and stood up, going to open the tent flap.

Adam and Anna were there, hands linked together as Adam led her inside. She hesitated on the opening before coming inside, clearly out of her element and looking uncomfortable – I could kind of see why. Things hadn't happened in the best way to paint her in a good light here, but that was all water under the bridge…sorta.

At least my younger brother seemed calm, sitting down in front of us and pulling her down as well. She went, folding her legs up in front of her, clothing tightly stretch across her body, and it looked uncomfortable but she still did it anyway, her body tense and her eyes averted from mine and Castiel's. She didn't let go of Adam's hand though, but held it tighter.

I opened my mouth to say something – because I totally had something to say, just so you know – when Michael also walked in.

Michael made me uncomfortable. Of course, you know this, reading what you've read so far. Since the move with Castiel practically acting as my second shadow and never hesitating to act like the BAMF he was whenever someone got too close or too comfy, Michael had backed off and I hadn't had much trouble from him, but that didn't mean I wanted to share close quarters with him either. Plus he had this weird look about him that reminded me of my dad, which just added a whole new wrongness to it.

"Um…" I looked over to Castiel as he sat down next to me.

"I told you it was unorthodox," he whispered to me and I resisted the urge to jab him in the stomach, just barely.

"Alpha," Adam said, just managing to catch my attention and I looked at my younger brother, swallowing. "All three of us have come to you to ask permission to court each other." I raised my eyebrow and took a deep breath, and then stopped. I frowned, looking to Castiel who was watching me expectantly.

I inhaled again. There was a weird scent in the air…Like, hormones (though that's nothing new) and it was foreign, all mixed up and I couldn't figure out what it was.

They were getting unnerved by my silence, and that's when it happened – Anna bit her lip, her other hand moving behind her folded legs, and she rubbed very slightly around her stomach. My eyes widened in realization and I looked to Adam, who was watching me with worried, hopeful eyes. Michael just looked resigned.

"Who's the father?" I asked softly, and I hoped the hard edge wouldn't be mistaken for menace. It wasn't anger – of course not – but I was surprised and sometimes apparently when I'm surprised I have a habit of acting like I'm pissed off. It's something I try and get around but sometimes it just comes out wrong.

Adam bit his lip, looking over at Anna who had yet to move, yet to look anywhere except at her knees. "That's just it," he said, looking back at me. "We don't know."

"How did…When did this happen? _How_ – was it like a separate thing?" I gestured wildly between the three of them. "Did you both just decide to…like, _share_?"

Adam's eyes narrowed at me. "Please don't say it like that," he said softly, but with just a little growl in his voice, and I swallowed, sighing and trying to calm myself down, and gestured for him to go on. "And it just happened…a couple of weeks ago we…were all…involved…" He was blushing and I felt sorry for my brother, having to stumble through this while the two were-cats remained silent and unmoving. Anna bit her lip, rubbing her stomach again, and her eyes finally flashed up to meet mine.

"Listen, I really like your brother," she said earnestly, biting her lip again before her eyes flashed to Michael. "And I like Michael too, and what happened was rash but we can't do anything about it now but I don't want…to be cast out for something like this. Please."

I sighed, leaning forward and rubbing my forehead. I suddenly had a headache. "No, guys, of course you have permission and of course you won't be cast out for this," I said, getting it out of the way. "I'm not angry about it. Just…surprised is all. I hadn't even realized you three were close at all." I smirked a little Anna's way. "I thought you hated my kind."

"Your brother is a very good diplomat," she replied with a wan little smile, and I couldn't help it – I burst out laughing. "But…Jesus, guys, couldn't you have waited until she _wasn't _in heat or something?" I asked, unable to believe that my little brother had been so irresponsible as to get the poor girl pregnant (potentially).

Castiel sighed. "You know what the commercials used to say – it only takes one time."

"Commercials?" Adam asked, brow furrowed.

"They were things used back during human times," Castiel explained, "to sell things. To make people want what other people were selling. They also were used to warn against social problems and also offer services to people."

I looked over at my mate again. Sometimes I could forget that he was actually old enough to have been around _before _civilization opened its eyes and greeted the world. Before humans were even really humans. It just…blew my mind sometimes. I wondered how he remembered it all – if there were still remnants of the old world left behind. There must be, but I'd never seen them – I'd never gone outside the forest until I'd taken over my Pack and begun my outreach to unite wolves and cats. The only knowledge I had of history was tales that the older members of the Pack told me and what tales we could hear from others. Everything was passed on by word-of-mouth nowadays.

I never got the point of recording history. I mean, say someone wrote a record of something, like a war. And that war was fought and say it was lost. That person who'd recorded it would be biased to the winning side (if they wanted to keep their lives), and wars are often written from the point of view of the winning side because the losing side would be dead. And then anyone who came along and read that record would think things happened a certain way when they might not have. History was subjective.

And say that record was kept but then _that _society was invaded by another place. _That _history could be changed again to make the decimated society look like the villains, so that record could have been changed yet again. By the time someone from our time would read it, it could have been changed thousands of times and the truth would have been gone.

History passed on by word of mouth was just as bad, oftentimes worse, but it was basically the only method we had left now, because those that were historians back in human times before the disease were rich, powerful people living in densely populated cities. They were the first to go. Only those who lived in the country survived and those that were used to the more rugged life survived better. It was natural selection.

Humanity as a race had been so thoroughly destroyed that pockets of civilization could go forever without ever realizing that they weren't the only one. Besides, we were better like this, stronger. We didn't need concrete buildings and animals to protect ourselves because we _were _the animals, now.

At least, that's how my Dad always told it to me.

Anyway…huge digression aside. What was I talking about?

Right.

"It doesn't work like that for cats," Anna murmured, flushing a little. "We are capable of getting pregnant at almost any time of the year, continuously. I know wolves tend to go into heat – we don't." I blinked at her.

"Then how do you know when…you can?" I asked, gesturing again, frowning in confusion.

Anna flushed a little, and I would feel bad for all the probing questions if it weren't for the deep talks I'd had to have with all of my pack when all the drama began for this whole move-miscarriage-pregnancy thing.

"We just keep trying until we are."

"…Oh. Okay." I was at a loss of what else to say, so I didn't say anything. Eventually Adam cleared his throat and I remembered myself. "Of course, you have permission to be together." My little brother relaxed visibly, and Anna did also when Michael reached out and placed a hand on her knee, smiling at her. I'll admit I felt a kind of grudging affection for him then, although I was still kind of freaked out because Adam was, like, half his physical age (I shudder to think how old Michael actually was) and they both just seemed in it for Anna. I didn't know what would happen when the baby was born and we could know who the father was, but for now I was willing to grant my brother nine months of happiness. "If you don't have anything else…"

I continued to eat as they left the tent, Castiel seeing them out, and then he sat down in front of me, smiling a little and took my chin in his hand, forcing our eyes to meet. "Are you okay?" he asked seriously, and I jerked my head away with a light growl.

"I'm fine. Just freaked out."

"Freaked out?" he repeated, cocking his head to one side, brow furrowed.

"Yeah. I mean…Michael's kind of a sleezeball. First impressions last forever, Cas," I replied, finishing up the meet, and I grimaced, pushing the vegetables away. Castiel looked at them with a deadpan expression and pushed them back towards me. "Dude, I'm not eating that."

"Yes you are," he said sternly, holding up a carrot. "You have a child growing inside of you, Dean, and it cannot survive solely off of meat as you seem so fond of doing. If I have to hold you down and force feed it to you, I will."

"God, you're such a bitch," I growled back, but took the carrot, biting into it. He just smirked at me, stupidly impervious to my angry-face, and that just pissed me off more. It was like since I'd gotten pregnant that I'd lost all the power now, and I did _not _agree with that, thank you.

Castiel rolled his eyes. "It's not like you're allergic."

"Wouldn't know," I replied, shrugging, and pointed at him with the bitten-off carrot; "You've jinxed it now. If I die it'll be because you angered the carrot." And then I burst out laughing, the image of a really angry red carrot jumping up and down and speaking in a really high-pitched squeak the only thing in my head. I shook my head and took another bite.

Castiel was watching me with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should rest," he suggested gently, pushing at my shoulders, and I pushed him away half-heartedly. "Really, Dean, you're obviously still tired and I want you to get as much rest as you can."

"Cas, I have like another six months."

"Even so," he replied, brushing my hair back from my face, and I swear he has kind of a hypnotic power because I suddenly felt tired, and he kissed me gently, holding my head in his hands, thumb stroking along my cheek, and my eyelids started drooping. Damn psychic were-cat powers.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You're joining me, then," I demanded, and I heard him give a noncommittal grunt, but his body relaxed and he laid down next to me, one hand resting over my spine, the other at my stomach and I smiled into the kiss, ruining it.

I woke up the next morning nauseous again, and barely made it to the edge of the camp before I threw up the meat and vegetables from last night. Castiel was right behind me, soothing a hand up and down my spine while I emptied my stomach.

"Dean? You feeling alright?"

"Told you those carrots would come back with a vengeance."

He grunted lightly again, still rubbing up and down my back until the heaving stopped and I could move my head away, not wanting to breathe in the smell and make myself sick again. I grunted, digging my hands into the soft dirt around the puddle and piled it over the mess, burying it in damp earth.

I swallowed, tasting bile again, and grimaced, holding my stomach. Then I looked down. There was a bump there. Like an actual freaking _bump. _I sat up, unable to take my hand away as I looked down at my stomach.

"Dean? What's wrong?" Castiel asked, shifting so he was kneeling more in front of me than by my side, and his concerned eyes met mine. "Are you still feeling sick?"

"Don't you…I…It's…" I couldn't form words, too shocked at the fact that something was suddenly _there._ I took Castiel's hand and pressed it against my stomach. "It's bigger now," I murmured, watching him watch me, then his eyes trekked downwards, fingers splaying out over my stomach. "I mean it's…fuck, Cas."

I couldn't even think. There's a difference between knowing something's happening but also, you know, _seeing _the evidence. Like…I don't know. Bleeding or something. You know your blood's there but when you cut yourself and it comes out of you it just makes it all the more real.

Yeah I know – shitty metaphor, but I couldn't think of anything else.

Castiel chuckled, looking back at me, eyes bright. "Yeah, I'd say that's a baby or food," he said lightly.

"S'cause you've been forcing all that food down my throat _and _won't let me out of the tent to _do _stuff," I griped back at him, standing but unable to quite stop…touching my stomach. I sighed, thumbing over the slight rise that was really barely noticeable except _it was right there and it was only going to get bigger and then God there would be a baby and –_

"You're thinking too much," Castiel said, cupping my cheek and forcing our eyes to meet. He leaned in and gently brushed our lips together. "Stop. This is fine, Dean, this is natural." His hand covered mine, our fingers overlapping each other as they rested against my stomach. "You're doing a wonderful thing."

"I'm gonna get _huge," _I muttered, not quite able to let that go.

"You're getting _pregnant,"_ Castiel amended with a smirk, the bastard, and I was about to come up with another snappy reply (seriously, I was) when I heard an excited whooping coming from the camp, and turned my head, just in time to see Sam running towards me, grinning like an idiot.

He enveloped me in a massive huge, crushing the wind right out of me and I let him, trying to suck in a breath through my teeth.

"Sam," Castiel warned, "let go of him." And I tried to add my say by smacking him on the shoulder with my fist. Sam relented a little, until I could at least breathe. "I mean it, Sam," Castiel said; "You're crushing him."

"He can handle it," Sam muttered into my neck, and I shook my head.

"_I _can but the baby that's recently gotten big enough to see can't and you're crushing it with your Gigantor body, now _shift –_" I pushed at him and he let go. "Thank you."

"You're showing?" he asked excitedly, going to his knees immediately and touching my stomach, grinning when he felt the slight bump. I fought the urge to shy away from the touch because I wasn't really expecting or used to it and it was semi-awkward, having Sam on his knees.

"For God's sake, Sam, get up," I said, rolling my eyes and trying to play it off, pulling him up to stand by his hair, and he went, pouting a little but unable to keep it up due to him still grinning like an idiot, touching my stomach. "What's the reason for molesting me, huh Sammy?"

His smile, if possible, grew wider. "Gabriel's pregnant," he said proudly.

My eyes widened. "Really?" Then I was grinning too. "Sam, that's awesome!"

"I know, right?" Sam was too happy to keep still, obviously, bouncing from foot to foot, grinning like he'd just gotten the best news in the world (which I would say he had). "I mean, it's just…" He shook his head, and made an excited little noise. "And now you're showing…"

Things were finally going well. "Go be with your mate, Sammy," I said, brushing my hand down his face. "And…listen." I drew him closer, pulling him away with me a little so Castiel couldn't overhear – "Remember what you talked to me about, with pressure, okay? Don't get overexcited. A lot of things can go wrong in the first few months, and even then. _Please, _don't get your hopes too high, alright? It'd kill me to see this go badly."

He sobered up a little, hugging me more gently than the first time. "I get it Dean. You're the only one I've told anyway," he whispered, nuzzling into my throat for a moment – and I let him – before straightening, still smiling. "I'll catch ya later." Then he was off running again, and Castiel was watching me when I approached him.

"That was sound advice you gave him," he said, wrapping his arms around me, and I sighed, resting my forehead on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I know."

I felt him smile against my temple, and he turned his head to place a kiss on my cheek. I couldn't help but smile back and hold him tighter. "We're gonna be parents, Dean," he whispered, sounding awed, and I chuckled quietly, finding yet another facet of Castiel's personality – the sweet, wonderful side that found beauty and joy in everything.

"Yeah, and pretty soon the hormones will have me acting all crazy."

"Oh, so you'll be blaming hormones?" he asked innocently, laughing when I poked him in the side. "Just kidding. You know I love you, hormones or not."

He kissed me again, this time on the temple, and I smiled, letting myself relax, his scent and body heart and steady, strong heartbeat calming me down. "Yeah. I know that too."


	22. Chapter 22

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Also, OHMYGOD, I can haz plot for ending. I see a finish line on the horizon and though it pains me to do it, it must be done *braces self* …Just, not this chapter yet :D Plus I just had to take a break from the Epic!Smush!fic I created for y'all, so…:D

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Gabriel flounced into my tent later that week, smiling at me as he sat down and I forced one back. "So, is your mate being super protective lately too?" I asked, smiling when he winced a little as he sat, hands going to his slightly rounded stomach as he adjusted himself so he could be more comfortable. He'd forgone wearing clothes, not wanting to have the restricting tightness around his expanding body and I sure as hell supported him in _that_ – it would feel like hell being wrapped up like that.

Gabriel huffed gently, grinning. "Yeah, but I've come to expect it," he said, leaning forward and placing a hand on my stomach, before fishing into his Healer's bag for tools he needed for the exam that Castiel had insisted he start performing on me to make sure everything was going smoothly. "How're you feeling?"

"Honestly? I just feel awkward and hormonal," I said with a small laugh which Gabriel mirrored. "Listen…this is an awkward question, I know, but…like, how is it going to come out?" I asked, feeling awkward just thinking about it but it was something that weighed on my mind recently and I kind of would feel better getting answers about it.

Gabriel pursed his lips. "You'd be amazed how much your muscles will be able to relax and stretch to the let the baby come out, but if worse comes to worst we can cut it out."

_"Cut it out?_" I repeated, right as Castiel and Sam walked into the tent as well.

"Sorry I'm late," Castiel murmured, sitting next to me immediately, lifting my shoulders so I rested against his chest, his bent legs framing my torso, and I grinned, flicking his knee gently. "Have you started yet?"

"Just was about to. I was explaining to Dean about how much the sphincter is capable of stretching when he goes into labor, and how he should be able to give birth relatively naturally," Gabriel explained lightly, and _eesh, _he made it sound like I wasn't about to force an eight pound wad of wriggling flesh out _through my ass._

"Is that even…possible?" Sam asked, wrinkling his nose, perching next to Gabriel and watching his mate while he worked. "I mean…babies are big and the exit is, well, not."

Gabriel chuckled lightly. "Trust me, Sammy – Dean's young. He'll be fine."

Sam bit his lip, but subsided as Gabriel knelt between my legs, smiling in a reassuring way before I felt his fingers at my entrance again, bracing myself for the feeling of being examined – I knew he was just making sure that the baby's growth wasn't, like, tearing anything, and that it was necessary, but it's still just so freaking _awkward, _especially with witnesses as Sam and Castiel so eagerly played the part of.

"Who'll deliver the baby?" I asked after a moment. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at me. "I mean…" I blushed. "You'll be really far along by then and I don't, like, want the stress or whatever to trigger premature labor. That can happen, right?"

Gabriel chuckled. "Your worries are unfounded, but I've also been training Anna and Jo in my trade. They will be able to stand in should my own child get in the way."

"I still can't believe you're telling me I'll be able to just…push it out," I muttered, unable to let it go, because my mind was supplying very graphic images that I kind of wanted to scrub away but I couldn't and it was kind of starting to freak me out, because _shit, _what if the baby was too big and they ended up having to cut it out, but what if they cut too deep and instead they -?

"Dean, relax," Castiel murmured, taking my face in his hands and leaning over me, nuzzling into the dip at the base of my throat. "You're over thinking this. Gabriel's done this before – he knows what he's doing."

Gabriel tense at the same time Sam said; "What do you mean, 'Done this before'? Were-cats don't have male births…do they?"

I felt Castiel's body go still underneath mine, and I looked up into the eyes of my mate, but he was watching his brother, who was glaring at Castiel as though Castiel had just betrayed a trust or something, and Gabriel sighed, closing his eyes as he removed his fingers from me, and washed his hands using a water-skin, before looking to Sam.

"Yes, it's happened before with our species, but it's very rare."

"Then how do you know about it?" Sam asked, voice low with suspicion.

Gabriel swallowed. "Because I…was someone it happened to."

Sam's eyes widened, his lips parted in surprise. _"What?"_ he gasped, leaning forward, reaching towards Gabriel in an aborted movement. "What do you mean? You've had a kid before?" Gabriel bit his lip, nodding, and then looked down. I had the feeling that Castiel and I should have probably left them alone, but honestly the tension was so thick that I was afraid of moving. "So…what? You have a kid? Did you have a mate too? A whole other family?" Even I couldn't tell if Sam was pissed off or just shocked.

"It was a mistake, when I was very young. Back before even humans were alive," Gabriel confessed, his eyes flashing to Castiel. "I was wild in my youth and I thought, for a crazy decade, that I would be better off away from the Clan, away from my brothers who were always fighting to be the Alpha and my father who didn't give a crap who won or lost, or who died in the fighting, so I left, and I ran away.

I met another were-cat in a place that, when humans populated it, became known as 'Las Vegas'." I frowned, recognizing the name from talk between the older wolves. There was a pack that lived there now and though the city was in ruin, the place was still inhabitable and we had had peaceful dealings with that pack for many years. "The City of Sin, it was dubbed, and I…met a tall, dark stranger, and I had a son with him."

Sam gasped again, his expression on more of shock and pain than anything else. I wanted to move to comfort him, just touch him somehow, but again I was afraid of even moving, in case we reminded Sam and Gabriel that we were actually still here.

"Where is he now?" Sam whispered.

"I raised him until he was old enough to survive on his own, and then I left him with a friend who owed me a favor, and I came back to the Clan. Castiel was in power by then and I would have been cast out if it weren't for him accepting me as his Beta." Gratitude, then, so strong I could feel it, in Gabriel's voice, directed at his younger brother. I felt Castiel's rumble at my back when he spoke.

"Gabriel knows what he's doing, Sam," he murmured. "What happened was a long time ago. We've learned to put things that we cannot change out of our minds."

Sam snarled, pushing himself to his feet. His fists and jaw were clenched, glaring first at Castiel, then Gabriel. "You don't just put something like a _son _out of your minds," he snapped, and then he was turning, out of the tent before anyone could stop him.

Immediately I was on my feet, intending to go after him. "Sammy, wait!"

"No." Castiel's hands were on me, holding me down. "You stay here and rest," he demanded, growling a little when I struggled and threw his hands off me. "Dean. Stay here."

"No! That's my brother and my beta and I have to go make sure he doesn't do something stupid," I snapped back at him, glaring when his expression didn't change. He rolled his eyes like I was being a difficult child, standing so we were at eye level.

"You need to rest. You can't go chasing after wayward brothers in your condition."

"I'm _pregnant, _Cas, not an invalid." I went towards the tent opening, surprised when he was suddenly _there_ right in front of me. _Damn _he was fast as a human, and silent. "Castiel – move out of the way," I demanded, putting a little of the 'Alpha Voice' into my tone, and though his body tensed, fighting the order, it didn't affect him – he looked more angry than in pain from fighting the order.

He pressed his palm against my chest, pushing me back into the tent, but I didn't let him push me too far – barely a foot away from the tent opening. "Dean, rest. I will go after him if necessary."

"What can you say to him that I can't?" I snapped back, pushing his hand away from me. If looks could kill I'm sure I would have been dead several times over – Castiel looked like he couldn't decide if my attitude was admirable or idiotic. He was looking at me like he used to when we first met, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "He's my _brother, _Cas. And I'm still his Alpha. Now let me pass, or I'll make you."

There was a long pause before Castiel's shoulders slumped a little, but he held his head high. "Are you going to fight me, Dean?" he whispered, and honestly – I can't believe he asked me that. Of course I didn't _want _to fight him, but…

"I will if I have to," I replied softly, but surely. I reached out, brushing my hand down the side of his face, because despite how tense he was there was a kind of softness in his eyes, and it made me just want to touch him. "Step aside, Castiel."

I was very aware that with every second he delayed, Sam was getting further and further away, and so I didn't wait for him. I stepped around him and he followed me with his gaze, but otherwise didn't move. I could tell how much effort he was putting into himself to stop me again, and while I was grateful that he'd gotten over himself, at least for the moment, I knew that this weird uber-possessive and protectiveness was going to get real old, real fast. It would be something we had to work on later.

I changed into a wolf, wincing when transforming became painful for the first time since I was a teenager – with the baby now, everything had to rearrange itself a lot more carefully, and I felt really heavy in my stomach whenever I moved, but I forced myself to run, easily following Sam's scent to wherever it would lead.

I found him on the outcropping that I'd escaped to after my miscarriage. He hadn't climbed up (lucky for me, because a wolf wouldn't be able to fit through the small opening between the brush), and I found him sitting at the base of a tree, curled up on himself, face buried in his arms which were folded on his knees. I crept closer, staying as a wolf, and laid down next to him.

It warmed my heart a little that, when he felt me nearby, he didn't run away again. He turned into the warmth of my fur, resting his head on my shoulder, arm thrown over my neck and buried into my scruff. I purred softly, turning my head so it rested in his lap and he smiled a little – I could feel it against my shoulder – and petted the soft, smooth hair on the top of my head, where my mom used to pet me whenever I felt sick or sad. I flattened my ears out so he could reach more of it and let out a pleased little noise.

We sat in silence like that for a long time, before I heard him sigh. I knew he did that whenever he was ready to start talking, so I cocked an ear towards him and turned my head so I could see his face.

"It's stupid really," Sam muttered, still petting through my fur softly, sometimes rubbing it the wrong way. "I mean…Gabriel's old, right? I'd be surprised if he _didn't _have kids, hadn't mated before. So why does it hurt so much?"

Now, communicating wolf-to-human is slightly more difficult than wolf-to-wolf, but I knew at least Alphas could manage it; _I don't know, Sammy, but maybe you're more surprised than pained._

He huffed a little, blowing his fringe out of his eyes before he smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess. I don't know…I guess I just…didn't think about it much before he told me. I feel a little blind-sided."

_I felt the same way when Cas told me his age. He's, like, over four thousand years old, _I said with a slight laugh in my voice, Sam's arm moving up and down when I laughed, and he smiled back at me. _You know what I think would be awesome?_

Sam cocked his head to one side. "What?"

_I think it would be cool if we went to a human city. I mean…there must be things still there – I know it's been forever but books and stuff will still be there, maybe. And I know you, Sammy – you like to know everything about everything all the time. _I laughed again. _I don't know. Maybe there's a huge were-cat library that we never knew about._

It was a bit of a stretch, but Sam's eyes lit up like Christmas had come early. "Really?" he asked, grinning.

_Yeah, sure, Sammy. Whatever you want, _I replied, shifting a little because I was laying on a tree root and it was putting uncomfortable pressure on my stomach, so I shifted until it was more under my chest than my belly, and Sam noticed.

"Maybe you shouldn't be laying on your stomach," he suggested hesitantly, biting his lower lip, and I rolled my eyes, turning my head to playfully land a bite to his calf. He gave a startled little yelp, kneeing me gently in the jaw in retaliation. "What'd I do?"

_If one more person treats me like the wind's gonna break me, I'm gonna start breaking _them, I threatened half-heartedly, griping more than anything else, and then my head snapped up when I heard a startled yell of pain through the trees. Sam met my eyes and then were both up, running as wolves.

In barely a mile I could smell blood. Lots of it. Like, a fatal amount of blood, and I paused, sniffing at it. It smelled vaguely familiar and I felt a sinking feeling in my gut at the thought that this might be one of my pack members, or one of Castiel's. It was a weird mix of two scents and it made it indistinguishable.

A branch snapped ahead of us and Sam looked over at me, ears back. I could tell what he wanted to say and I didn't give him a chance to say it – I wasn't going to let him go barreling into the lead and I wasn't going to go back to the pack either. What was the point of being Alpha – protector, leader – if you couldn't do either because it was too _dangerous? _There's being smart and then there's being a coward.

We found Adam and Michael four miles later into the forest. They looked like they were trying to get back to the pack but were lost – Adam stopping every few feet, trying to find the way back and being unable to. The smell of blood was overwhelming and I felt sick, but I kept going forward. When Adam heard us coming he turned around, and I saw that Michael wasn't actually walking – Adam was carrying him.

He looked like hell. He looked like he'd been attacked.

_Sam, call Gabriel, _I ordered my brother, before running forward, changing carefully back into a human in time for Adam to practically collapse under Michael's weight, relaxing somewhat once he recognized me and Sam.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, turning Michael onto his back. He was alive – just barely – his breath was coming fast and shallow. I could see his organs under long, deep gashes in his chest and stomach. Blood leaked out sluggishly from the wounds, and I had a sick feeling that the only reason he wasn't bleeding so much was that he was running out of blood to lose.

"I…I don't know," Adam said, his face white as a sheet, staring down at Michael. His hands were shaking and he looked like he was going into shock. "I was out in the forest and I smelled the blood, and I just found him like this. He couldn't climb onto my back and I didn't want to hurt him more so I kept walking and carried him but his scent kept disorienting me and…" He shook his head. "He can't speak – can't even open his eyes. I've tried."

"It's okay, Adam, the Healer's coming," I said, trying to keep him calm, but it wasn't working – I was panicking too. There was so much blood… "So you didn't see who did this?"

Adam shook his head. "No, and the scent was clean. It just smelled of Michael and I couldn't think of sniffing out anything else. I just…had to get him safe, you know?"

I swallowed, nodding in understanding – I couldn't imagine what Adam was feeling. I mean, his relationship was new and complicated and I didn't know how it worked between him and Michael, if they were together also or just joined by Anna, but I could tell my little brother cared for the were-cat (despite how much of a douche he seemed to be to me) so I could empathize with him – it's not easy to see someone you care about so close to death.

Gabriel – King of timing – made his appearance then, the were-cat skidding to a stop next to us, and he was phased between one second and the next, kneeling next to Michael…and he froze. He just looked at Michael for a long moment, eyes wide, before he set to work. He'd had the foresight to bring his bag, I was glad to see.

"What happened?"

"We don't know."

"He was attacked."

"By who?"

"We don't know."

Gabriel's lips thinned out for a moment and he took out what looked like a sharpened pine needle, some thread and a lot of bandaging. "Dean, I'm going to stitch him up and then you and Adam will have to support his back so I can bandage him up quickly. Sammy," he looked up, jerking his head to his side, and I was glad when my brother knelt next to him without hesitation, "in my bag there'll be a jar of thick purple stuff. Follow every cut I sew up and cover it with that salve. Use lots of it – we have plenty more."

We fell silent for a long moment while Gabriel set to work, waiting for him to finish before the rest of us could be spurred into action, and I turned to look at Adam who was sitting next to Michael's face, looking down at him slashed-open chest with wide, frightened eyes. He shouldn't stay here.

"Adam," I whispered, then with a bit more force when he didn't respond. "Adam! Go back to where you found him. Smell out the site. We need to know who did this _now, _before the thing strikes again. Can you do that for me?"

Adam swallowed, reluctant.

"He's in good hands," Sam whispered, placing a blood-and-salve-covered hand on Adam's shoulder. "Go, Adam. Please."

He swallowed again, then nodded, and turned to run back the way Sam and I have come, and I swallowed back the feeling of nausea as I concentrated on making sure Gabriel had everything he needed to work.

As soon as Adam was out of earshot, Gabriel blew out a breath. "Guys…I don't know if he's gonna…" He swallowed again. "He's messed up pretty bad here. I don't think he'll make it." He looked at me first, then Sam, eyes pained. "He's lost so much blood already and I can…" He bit his lip gently.

"Is there anything you could do?" I asked softly, but without much hope – Gabriel was the best Healer around and if _he _was saying it was a lost cause, well, I wasn't going to argue with him.

Gabriel sat back, running a blood-covered hand through his hair, and blew out a harsh breath. "The cuts are very deep. If they've punctured his intestine or his stomach then there's nothing I can do. Even with the best medicine, he'd probably get infected, and be in a lot of pain. I don't think he'd ever get better." His hands were shaking when he laid them back on Michael's prone body. "So there's only one thing I can do."

Sam sucked in a breath. "Help him die?"

"Wouldn't it be better? He's probably in unbearable pain right now, and…I know it's callous, but I don't want to waste time and energy on someone I can't save," Gabriel whispered, and he sounded pained by it, but he was also detached. Like when Castiel had witnessed his people tearing each other apart to get fed – he accepted it as one of those circle of life kinds of things.

I swallowed. "None of us can make this decision. It's not right."

Gabriel bit his lip again, slowly getting back to stitching up the worst of the wounds, but they weren't even bleeding much anymore. Michael had gone very, very pale, and he was getting cold. He felt cold under my hands and his pulse was sluggish. "He doesn't have long."

"No. We have to try and wake him up, and see who did this to him," Gabriel said, abandoning his tools for the moment, and he moved so he was up my Michael's head, holding the were-cat's chin and gently slapping the sides of his face. "Michael? Can you hear me, bro? Come on…wake up…"

Gabriel paused for a moment, and it might have been a trick of the light, but I swear Michael's eyelids fluttered a little. Gabriel tried again, resting his other hand against Michael's forehead. "I can feel you in there, Michael, come on," he whispered, and I wondered if this was more of that weird were-cat psychic mind meld, if they could communicate mentally like I could if I tried _really _hard. I'd only managed human psychic links once in my life and that was with Sam when our mother had died. I didn't speak a word for three days but Sam could hear me and that was one of the big milestones in our brotherly bond. I don't regret it.

Gabriel's brow furrowed, his lips formed words for a moment. "He didn't see the thing coming," he whispered, so softly that Sam and I had to strain to hear him. "Black. Black fur. Black eyes. A wolf. Definitely a wolf."

"Sleek."

"Not alone."

Michael's body convulsed under my hands as Gabriel tried to push harder; he let out a loose, choking, gurgling kind of sound, and then went completely limp in mine and Sam's hold. I couldn't feel his heartbeat anymore.

"Is he…?" Sam trailed off when Gabriel snapped out of whatever place he'd gone to, gasping for breath, clawing at his chest like he'd been suffocating, and immediately Sam's arms went around his mate, holding him close to his chest. I carefully checked Michael's body for any signs of life, but I couldn't find any.

"Yeah," Gabriel rasped out. "He's dead."

"He's…?" Adam had chosen that moment to return, his eyes wide with disbelief, still looking _so _pale, like he hadn't seen the sun in days, and he walked forward slowly, eyes on Michael, and I could see them shine with tears as he knelt down, placing a hand over the were-cat's still heart. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, and Sam, Gabriel and I averted our gazes to let him have some privacy. I only moved when I felt Adam's body start shaking with sobs, and I wrapped my arms around my little brother, let him bury his face in my neck, and I let him cry, rubbing a hand up and down his back like I did with Sammy sometimes when he was younger, the other hand holding the back of his head as I held him.

I no longer had doubt that my brother had cared for Michael, and I vowed that whoever had done this to him would pay dearly for it.

"Did you smell who it was?" I asked Adam, whispering it into his hair, and he nodded, wrapping his arms a little more tightly around my neck. I felt a little uncomfortable, since the only people I let near my neck were Sam and Castiel, but Adam was still family so I trusted him. At least enough not to bite me. "Who, Adam? Who did this to Michael?"

"There were…lots of them," Adam stuttered out between breaths. "I didn't recognize…a lot…but…there was…" He choked off again, words lot in another sob, and though it went against everything I _was_ – the part that needed to find answers and would stop at nothing to wring them out of my little brother, I let him have his moment to himself for now. The important thing was that we got back to the pack and warned them, let them know that no one was to leave the compound on their own, and if they did to stay linked with the pack at all times.

We had to go on the defensive, because already there had been one murder too many.


	23. Chapter 23

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Violence. Unbearable angst and emotion.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

I was expecting the nervous energy, heading back to the Pack. Fear, anxiety and anger, all hung thickly in the air. The wolves were antsy and as we walked back I saw two break out into a fight, not two feet, and I was quick to put a stop to it but still, it worried me.

Adam hadn't said a word on the walk back, and though I desperately wanted to press for answers, I let him be, just for now. Anna ran forward and embraced him when we reached her tent and Adam burst into sobs all over again, and I was left to wonder once more how it had all worked between the three of them, now two. I found myself wondering if maybe it hadn't been about sharing _Anna_ at all.

The wolves' behavior, I expected, but the cats felt weird to me too. Hostile and angry – they glared at each other and I could feel cold shoulders everywhere. Castiel had to be angry but, for the life of me, I couldn't point out why. I wanted to go talk to him, but I didn't want to leave either of my brothers at that moment and so I didn't, staying with Adam and Anna and Sam and Gabriel until Castiel came to find me.

He was cold, eyes hard when he came into Anna's tent, immediately locking gazes with me. His jaw clenched and he folded his arms over his chest, nostrils flaring slightly as he exhaled. "I heard about Michael," he said stiffly, eyes flashing to Adam and Anna for a moment, then back to me. "Dean, can I speak with you for a moment?"

I swallowed, because Castiel was kind of giving off the vibe that I was about to get my ass handed to me, and I wasn't in the mood for that (like, ever, because it was never in the good way), but Sam's hand found my knee and squeezed lightly. When I looked over at him, he smiled a little encouragingly. If Sam's uber-protective brother vibe wasn't going off then I couldn't have had that much to fear.

We were barely to the edge of the camp when Castiel whirled on me, blue fire in his eyes. "Do you have a fucking death wish, Dean?" he snapped, baring his teeth at me, voice a growl. I could see where the hostility was coming from now.

"…What do you mean?" I hedged, knowing the answer already.

Castiel snarled, not liking my noncommittal response. "What do I _mean_?" he repeated, spitting the words. "I _mean_ crashing headlong into the woods in your condition, and I didn't hear from you or about you for hours! Fuck, Dean, then to find out that someone had been _murdered _not a mile from where you had followed Sam – you could have been attacked, you could have been the victim instead of Michael, so easily, and I wasn't around to protect you, and you know why?" He wasn't giving me a chance to respond, instead jabbing a finger at my chest, pressing me against a thick tree trunk with his hand. "You're reckless. I used to admire that, but you can't afford to be reckless anymore, Dean. It's not just about you anymore and this _idiotic _behavior cannot continue."

I bristled at his tone, baring my teeth in a growl back at him as I shoved his hand off me. "He's my _brother_, Cas. I'd do it again. You can't expect me to change just because I'm pregnant. Damn it, Cas, I'm not a fucking invalid!"

"I'm not saying that," he replied, voice deadly calm.

"Aren't you?"

"_No,_" he growled. "I'm saying you're _pregnant,_ Dean. You're _pregnant, _carrying something that, for all we know, could be the most delicate thing in the universe. You've never been pregnant before – have never coped with it, and you've already lost _one._ You can't go crashing through the brush, running yourself ragged looking after your over-emotional brothers while you have something growing inside of you, not while you should be _resting _and making sure nothing else goes wrong with this."

I paused for a moment, swallowing back my instinctive answer because I knew it would be something I regretted. "He's my brother, Castiel. Like you wouldn't do the same for yours."

"I'm not _pregnant, _Dean, and my brother is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"You're saying Sam isn't?" I snapped.

"I'm saying _you're _not!"

I flinched from him, feeling like he'd hit me. I bit my lip, looking down so he couldn't see how much that hurt. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Cas," I muttered, eyes on the ground.

"Dean, I didn't mean it like that -."

"No, you just mean I can't be an Alpha and pregnant at the same time, is that it? That I'm not capable of taking care of anyone," I ground out, wounded beyond belief that he thought me so incapable. I clenched my teeth and glared at him, meeting his eyes. "I managed to do just fine before you came along." Crossing my arms over my chest, I forced myself to stay strong and hold his gaze.

The fire was still there, but he'd softened a little. "What if something had happened to you?" he whispered, shaking his head, before sighing. "I know you think I'm just being selfish, Dean, but I'm thinking of you here, too, _and _your pack. You're being unreasonable and unstable and it's blinding you to the effects of your pack. When you were sick – when you were sick, I thought I was going to die, the aura of death hung around here that strongly. When you lost the first child, _Dean_." He shook his head again. "You have to hand over the reins for a while."

"I can't do that, Cas," I murmured back, "I'm not built like that."

"Dean, you _have _to."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What're you gonna do – put a collar on me?" I challenged, stepping forward into his space. "Gonna leash me and whip me into your obedient little house dog? You can't train me, Cas, any more than I could control you. I wish you'd stop trying."

"I'm not _trying _to control you, Dean," he growled, raising his chin to meet my eyes, straightening, jaw clenched. "I'm trying to get you to listen to reason."

"And what does reason say?"

He paused, licking his lips as his eyes searched mine for a long moment. We were so close and he was so tense – I couldn't tell if he was going to hit me or kiss me. I wasn't sure which one I wanted more – at least he was emoting. I know it's a terrible thing to think, but honestly I was glad I could get Castiel emotional enough that he would yell at me, that he would want to resort to violence. I know it's unhealthy and everything, but sometimes it was really hard to tell what was going on behind those eyes of his, and when he's angry he lets everything out, and I like that transparency.

"Just…stay with the pack. Please, for a while, no matter what happens, and I will go to track around and see if I can find the attacker's trail," he whispered, his breath ghosting over my lips.

I frowned at him. "You think this is just a one-way street?" I demanded, stepping away from him again, pointing a finger accusingly in his direction, angry all over again. "You think you can just make me stay put while you go off being reckless? Hell no – if I have to be cautious, you do too."

Castiel blinked, cocking his head to one side. For a long moment neither of us said anything until I lowered my arm, rubbing my palm over my slightly swollen stomach, feeling a little queasy. His eyes zeroed in on the movement and then he nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" I repeated in disbelief, unable to believe he'd given up that easily.

"Okay," he said, nodding. "You're right. It's not safe anymore, not for just one wolf or cat traveling alone. I will take Lucifer and a wolf with me. Who would you suggest?"

I knew the answer immediately. "Bobby," I said, knowing that that was who I would want having my back, aside from Sam and Castiel. I blew out the breath I'd been unconsciously holding, biting my lip again. "I don't want you going out at all," I confessed, because Michael…God, he'd been ripped to shreds. Barely recognizable.

Castiel raised an eyebrow. "Maybe getting a taste of your own medicine will be good for you," he replied stiffly, and then turned and began walking back towards the center of the camp.

"Wait!" I cried, following him immediately, not wanting it to just be left at that – I had to accept the sickening sensation that maybe he had a point (okay so he did have a point, but it was the hormones, okay? They made me act crazy) and I didn't want to be angry at him and then find him wounded or dead without chance to make amends. He paused, turning back towards me in time for me to reach him, take his head in my hands and kiss him senseless.

He answered and one-upped me immediately, biting down on my bottom lip and tugging until I opened for him. He tasted like deer meat and his own sweat – must have groomed recently. I'd have to take him back to that lake when all this was over. "I hate fighting with you," I said, resting my forehead against his when we pulled away for air.

He chuckled lightly, but didn't say anything, God bless him – just stroked a hand through my hair gently until I let him go, and he placed one more kiss to my lips and cheek, stroking a hand over my stomach, and then he was a cat and running.

I went back to Adam, Sam, Gabriel and Anna.

Adam was the only one there, though, when I came in. He hand his knees drawn up to his chest, face buried in his folded arms which rested on his knees, and his body shook with sobs. I entered quietly, sitting down next to him and placed a light touch to his back, just letting him know I was there. He cocked his head a little to see it was me and took in a deep breath, lifting his head and wiping at his eyes hurriedly to wipe away the tear tracks.

"It wasn't just about sharing Anna, was it?" I asked, not knowing how far would be too far, but wolves never really keep secrets from each other – I myself was as open as I could be with my pack and expected them to do the same for me. He swallowed, shaking his head. "Who was it?"

Adam swallowed. "It was sharing me," he whispered, blinking and more tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, and he wiped at them with the back of his hand, sniffing loudly. "The baby has to be mine. I mean…the way it happened…it has to be mine."

I nodded, biting my lip, sorrow overwhelming me for my brother's sake. Adam was so _young,_ even by wolf standards, and I couldn't imagine suffering heartbreak like this. I never had.

"He bit me," Adam whispered, and he raised the arm closest to me, rubbing just under his armpit with his other hand, and I could catch the outlining edges of a mating mark there. "When we were…together, for the first time, he bit me. It was just me and him, and now he's gone."

"You really cared for him, didn't you?" I whispered, unable to equate the same douchey seducer that Michael had been to me, to someone who could win Adam's heart. He shuddered through another dry sob, nodding, wrapping his arms around his knees again and I stroked his back as he cried. "I'm so sorry, Adam. Whoever did this, we'll find him."

"I'm going to rip him limb from limb," Adam growled, hatred coloring his voice and the eyes that reminded me so much of my dad when he lifted his head again. "I'm going to rip him limb from limb and force feed him his own heart and watch him choke on his blood. Anna will help me, too. We'll both kill him and it'll be good."

"Adam," I gasped, shocked at my sweet-tempered little brother's suddenly violent behavior, and shuddered at what might have happened if I had been the one to be hurt and Castiel had reacted this way. I'd already seen evidence of his violent, vengeful behavior and couldn't imagine it being unleashed on a single being.

Then, I abruptly remembered that Adam had actually found the scent, and knew who had attacked Michael. "Who did it, Adam? Who? I promise, whoever it was, he will be punished. He will rue the day he ever attacked our pack, but you have to tell me who it was," I coaxed gently, still rubbing my little brother's back.

Adam's upper lip curled back and he growled – a soft, low sound. It was the first time I'd ever been afraid of him.

"Scott," he snarled out, and my eyes widened, my jaw dropped.

That was Gordon's son's name.

Again, the King of timing decided to make his entrance, barreling into the tent with Sam hot on his heels. He looked out of breath and shaken. "Castiel's been to the site," he said, rushed, all his words melding into one, and it was hard to understand; "He found Gordon's, and wolves, dozens of scents, Dean. So many scents. Almost our numbers. There were even more around the site. He's tracking them now to the edge of your borders."

"It was Scott, Sam," I said, standing up, forgetting Adam for a moment and turning to my Beta and Castiel's. "Gordon's son," I quickly explained. "Adam says he was the one who attacked Michael. And if what you're saying is true…"

"You don't think Gordon came back with allies, do you?" Sam asked, pale-faced.

"That's exactly what I think."

"Oh God…"

"Who would unite with him against you?" Gabriel asked, cocking his head to one side, frowning. "You have peaceful dealings with most of your neighbors."

"Dealings with the Northern packs were getting difficult," Sam said quickly, his voice getting low with dread, staring at me with wide eyes and a knowing kind of look that he gets when he's starting to put pieces of a puzzle together and not liking the picture he gets. "They didn't trust cats, didn't want them anywhere near them. They wouldn't look too kindly on a were-cat colony and ours merging. Might find it threatening, in fact."

"Threatening enough that, when Gordon came to them with his sympathetic cause, he might have gotten some allies there," I replied grimly.

"But there are cat colonies in the North too," Gabriel said. "They surround you except for in the North-west. I know this." His eyes flashed to Sam for a moment, then back to me. "Wolves mobilizing and camping out on your borders would draw attention."

"They're looking for revenge."

"He wouldn't want an all-out war," I whispered, unable to believe it. "Really?" I felt sick, dread gathering low in my gut. "Wouldn't want bloodshed, or the chance that he would lose."

"Dean," Sam whispered – "that's what _you _wouldn't want. Gordon's a fucking psychopath, man. He wants your head on a stick." I swallowed. "But he won't get it. We'll send out word, try and get any allies to lend their support and their numbers. With any luck we can get enough people that our sheer size will serve as a deterrent."

"They'll pick us off, like they did with Michael," Adam whispered, fingers clenching into tight fists. "The only way to solve this is an all-out confrontation. We must fight to survive."

"Don't be talkin' like that," I snapped, trying to get a deep breath and calm myself down but it was getting really fucking difficult. I felt like the air in the tent was a thousand degrees and I couldn't breathe.

Adam growled at me, leaping to his feet. "It's that son of a bitch's fault that he's dead!" he yelled, gesturing wildly out towards the area Michael had died. "He's dead and gone and no one seems to _care _but me!"

"We do care, Adam -."

"No, you don't," he snapped, pushing past me, Sam and Gabriel until he was outside. "If you're not going to do anything then I will!"

"Adam!" It was too late – he was already phased and running. Without thinking I followed him, because while following Sam might have been dangerous, Adam _definitely _wasn't thinking clearly and I _knew _he'd be out for blood. I wasn't going to lose a brother to that monster.

Castiel was phased too – he could feel me. _"I thought I told you to stay in the pack."_

_"Adam's out for blood," _I replied, knowing my excuses wouldn't work for him but at this point I really didn't fucking care – I felt heavy, running with the baby and Adam was fast gaining ground. I slowed, knowing I would be unable to catch him. By the time I slowed to a stop, breathing hard, I was alone, left behind, about four miles from the pack's camp border. A twig snapped to my right and I cocked my ear, turning my head to see what it was. Probably a deer but you could never be too careful.

_"Cas, I lost Adam," _I said, wanting to make sure he was okay because I wasn't that far from the pack and I _could _take care of myself, unlike my pain-blinded brother. _"Make sure he's alright, please."_

The wind direction changed, bringing the scent of the rains on its shoulders and I inhaled, ears forward, eyes focused on the shadows between the trees. The crunch of dry leaves underfoot caught my attention and I turned, catching the scent of a wolf on the wind as well. It wasn't one I had smelled before, and I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach.

Castiel could sense my hesitation and wariness – I could hear his voice saying my name in my head, but I had to focus. I closed him out, unable to hear him, cocked my ears around me, inhaled as deeply as I could.

Three wolves. One of them I definitely recognized.

_"Gordon,_" I snarled, baring my teeth when the giant black wolf stepped out of the shadows.

He bared his teeth in greeting, saliva dripping from his serrated, wickedly curved and gleaming fangs. "_Hello, Alpha."_

**MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL.  
*runs from all the abuse and hate for leaving it like that***


	24. Chapter 24

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Violence. Character Death.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Okay, I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

I am not a coward.

At least, I think to think I'm not, not when it counts.

But there's a difference between being a coward and being smart about things. Cowards live to fight another day, and I'm not one to rush into a fight where I'm outnumbered. Well, not recently. Not when it's not just me I'm responsible for inside my own skin. Even though I knew at least Castiel and Bobby were phased, I couldn't risk opening my mind to them because either Gordon would sense it and take advantage, or I'd be too distracted to act if he attacked me.

The scent of rain was getting stronger – it sat heavy in the light breeze while I stared down the three wolves. Or at least, tried to. It was Gordon in the middle with his son on his left side, the wolf as black as his father but slightly smaller, and with hazel eyes instead of black, taking after his mother. The third wolf I'd never seen before or smelled before. He was small, wiry-looking, with thick masses of splotchy fur, mottled black and grey to blend in and make camouflage. His eyes were a very bright blue, almost white they were so light. And glassy.

I learned his scent, just in case.

Castiel's voice was like a gnat buzzing around my head, annoying and distracting. I knew that by not responding I was probably just pissing him off, but still – aforementioned issue here still applied.

_Maybe if I wait long enough and then run…_Maybe the rain would wash away my scent. If I got a good enough advantage and kept to the thickly wooded parts of the forest I might be okay, at least long enough for me to get a message out to Sam or Castiel, to tell them where I was or who was after me. Something like that.

Still, I hadn't been able to outrun Adam, and that kid wasn't exactly the fastest wolf out there. And I didn't want to endanger the baby by pushing myself too hard, losing another one to this son of a bitch. If I made it out of this, I totally owed Castiel a 'You were right, I'm sorry'.

_If _being the word here.

Gordon stepped forward, his ears cocked forward, nostrils flaring, and I tensed. I didn't like this stillness – it felt like the calm before the storm and I remembered Sam's words; 'He's a psychopath. He wants your head on a stick', and I swallowed back a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. God, I was in no mood or condition to fight, though I would if it became absolutely necessary. Still, outnumbered and with no foreseeable relief, I was pretty much fucked.

_"What is that scent, Alpha?"_ Gordon asked, cocking his head to one side, _daring _to talk to me like he was still on amiable terms with me, like he still had the right to call me his Alpha. I couldn't stop myself growling, both out of anger and defense because if he found out about the baby I had no idea how he'd act – he didn't seem to be the kind to let a hybrid live.

He stepped closer to me, ears forward and curious, eyes focused on me, and the only reason I didn't outright attack him was because of the tensing of his bodyguards. I threw a glare over his shoulder at Scott and the other wolf, but I was ignored. Gordon kept approaching, and his body language wasn't aggressive – his hackles weren't raised and his teeth weren't bared, not even when he smelled at me. I was so antsy as he kept coming closer, I felt like I was going to be sick or something, and how embarrassing would _that _be?

He inhaled at my shoulder, licking along my fur and I snarled at him, shying away, ears flat against my head and down towards the ground, ready to attack. _"You don't fucking touch me," _I snapped, too angry and tense and afraid to care that my aggressive maneuver had caused me to get closer to that wild card wolf that I didn't know.

Gordon just laughed, advancing on me again, and I couldn't back away without either backing into the stranger, or against a tree and to be honest I wasn't sure which option was the worse one. I snapped my jaws at him, trying to move back so that my back was facing away from them but Gordon had moved to my other side and I was trapped between the three of them.

_Damn it._

_"You're not my Alpha anymore, Dean,"_ Gordon growled, almost hissing the words into my ear, finally starting to let his anger show through. It burned in his eyes and was venom in his voice. _"We're on equal ground here, and you're weak. Slow, outnumbered, unable to fight -."_

_"Who says I can't fight?" _I challenged, raising my head to meet his eyes and getting my neck away from his mouth.

Gordon, the bastard, laughed again. _"If you could have, you would have attacked me by now,_" he purred in reply, pushing at me again, and I couldn't help the way I lowered myself to the ground, trying to get away from him but unwilling to be sandwiched at the same time. _"I know you, Alpha. You wouldn't hesitate to attack three wolves who are not welcome on your lands, but something is holding you back…something is making you let me push you and trap you and talk to you like the bitch you are." _

I snarled at him, angered by his tone and his words, but I knew he was right. I wouldn't attack and risk him getting at my belly again, not now that I _knew _there was something in there, not when it wasn't just me I was protecting in my own skin now.

_"I wonder what it is,_" he continued, unaffected by my angry sounds, and went back to smelling me, wrinkling his nose a little. _"You reek of that animal you've been fucking._" I almost snorted at him calling Castiel an animal. If I wasn't so nervous I might have. _"Has rolling over for him taken its toll, Dean? Hmm? Too busy spreading your legs to keep your backbone? Gone soft?"_

_"Fuck you!" _I snarled, jerking my head to one side and catching him with my teeth, because he could say anything he wanted about me but he would _not _bring up Castiel without consequences.

He growled back, and so fast I didn't even realize it he had me pushed down, a set of teeth by my neck that wasn't his. I rolled my eyes to try and see and caught sight of mottled black. That stranger wolf had his teeth by my neck and I swallowed. Gordon loomed over me like a giant shadow and the clouds overhead were thick and grey and heavy. I felt the first drops of rain on my pelt as it began to fall.

_"Stay down, Alpha, if you want to keep your throat,"_ Gordon said with a smirk, cocking his head to one side like some fucking insect and I snarled at him, baring my teeth, but the stranger just bit down a little harder, and I could feel his teeth start to put pressure on my neck, almost breaking skin, and stopped, swallowing again. Gordon leant down, his wet and cold nose pressed at my stomach and I squirmed, pushing at him with my legs but it was too late; I heard the surprised sound he made before I could get him away from me. _"So _that's _it," _he said, and I couldn't tell if he was angry or surprised or awed – his voice was impossible to decipher. _"You're bearing his _kittens._" _He spat the word.

There, anger. Definitely anger.

I could see what was about to happen and I couldn't do it. Gabriel could fix me up but he couldn't bring a miscarried child back to life. I shoved at Gordon as hard as I could, rolling onto my back which brought me under the wolf I didn't know, and I threw my head to one side to catch his ear and the side of his scruff, and pulled hard enough that I heard something tear and blood flooded my mouth. He whined in surprise and pain and it was sudden enough that he let me go. I was up and running like a shot.

_"Fuck, catch him!"_ I heard someone – Gordon – yell, and I knew Scott would be after me, and that nameless one too once he recovered. I spat out the blood in my mouth and ran as fast as I could – direction didn't matter, all that mattered was _away_.

It was hard running with the baby, and my heart was going so fast, I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. The call had been way too close for my blood pressure. I opened mind, knowing this would be the only chance I got, and just yelled for anyone, everyone, I didn't care.

_"Dean!" Castiel. _Oh thank God.

_"Cas, there were three of them. God, so fucking close and -."_

_"Shh, Dean, it's okay."_

_"I'm running, Cas."_

_"Good, good. Keep running. I can feel you close, I'll join you shortly."_

_"I can't…keep…They're faster than -."_

_"It won't matter."_

Swallowing, I pushed myself to go faster, trusting that Castiel would be able to catch up with me before they did, because even though he'd been uneven in the forest at first when moving here, he'd really come into running in the time living here. He was faster here then he was on the marshes.

I had the home advantage – Gordon hadn't been here for months and the forest was constantly changing, growing and molding in different ways. The stranger wolf had never been here before and Scott was a recluse that never left the camp. I had the advantage and if I could keep my lead I had a chance of making it out of this with my head.

I changed directions abruptly, heading for the high ground, back West, and I could hear the rough pants of my pursuers behind me but I pressed on, because even a second looking backwards made me slow down and I knew this from experience. I knew this from another chase that had happened not even a year ago, one that had changed my life so completely.

I broke from the trees, heading to open territory on the top of a hill and dashed for it. I was getting close to my borders and if I could make it to the other side, maybe I could find the allied pack that I knew lived in this direction. They were a small pack but friendly, open to our attempts at mending the divide between wolves and cats and I knew I would find haven and protection there, especially if I told them what had happened.

I could hear them gaining. Faster, closer, fuck, I could _hear _them. I pushed myself, knowing I'd promised myself I _wouldn't _do this, but fuck it – judgment calls. I was making one and I'm usually shitty at them, but Castiel – my unofficial logic guide – seemed to have approve so…

_"Dean."_ It was whisper-soft but I heard it, and cocked my ear to the left. It had sounded like…_ "Dean, come this way."_

I didn't even question it. One second one way, the next another. I was glad the baby hadn't managed to fuck up my equilibrium or agility yet. Thank God for small favors. I caught a flash of black fur and blue eyes and almost sobbed in relief when I recognized it as Cas. Seriously, I almost collapsed right then and there but I wasn't out of the woods (so to speak) yet. I pushed for that final stretch (always the hardest one) and the direction of the wind changed, bringing Castiel's, Bobby's, and Sam's scent towards me. Behind me I heard my pursuers slow a little, sensing the reinforcements too.

I bolted into the trees, practically collapsing once I was past Castiel against a tree, trying desperately to catch my breath and slow my heart. I was getting double vision and it was really hard to think straight, my head was killing me and I felt sick to my stomach, so weak with relief and running so hard and fast.

_"Sam, get him out of here."_

_"No way in hell, Cas."_

_"Bobby?"_

_"Yeah, I'll do it." _My old friend started coming towards me, but I couldn't think straight enough and I just saw him as another enemy, and I snarled at him defensively, curling around myself and flexing my claws out so he'd get the picture. _"Um…I think this might be your job, Alpha cat…"_

_"Dean?_" Cas…Cas, I recognized Cas. For the life of me I can't figure out _how _I did it, but I recognized Castiel enough to relax, enough for him to come forward and lay his face against my shoulder. _"Dean, are you alright?"_

_"Stupid question, Castiel,_" I snorted in reply, and he chuckled lightly.

_"They're getting closer," _Sam warned.

Castiel growled, straightening and looking over his shoulder. _"Leave Gordon. That son of a bitch is _mine."

_"Cas." _I caught his attention, meeting his eyes. _"No."_

My voice didn't hold much heat because I knew he had probably been waiting for this since learning about Gordon's attack to me. Probably fantasized about it, the sick mofo. His whiskers twitched and his ears swiveled back, and I sighed, nodding, turning back into a human because I felt like I was going to vomit and I held my stomach, feeling like it was going to fall right out of me, and groaned, pressing my forehead to the cold, rough bark of the tree. I felt Castiel's nose on my neck again and smiled just a little, petting through his fur lightly.

Sam let out another low warning growl, and I had my eyes closed so I didn't see what was happening, but Castiel moved away from me and I couldn't feel his body heat anymore. It was fucking _cold, _being naked against a tree in the rain, and I could feel myself slipping against the gathering mud around the roots, my feet catching when I tried to adjust my position.

The snarls were getting louder and I forced myself to open my eyes and watch what was going on, because I had to know.

As soon as they saw it was three against three, Castiel went for it. I've never seen a single animal, wolf cat or otherwise, attack with so much ferocity. He went straight for Gordon and even though Scott was on him as well in a second, he didn't even seem to feel it. He tore at Gordon like he was the Devil himself, reopening that scar I'd given him on his face and biting down with those fierce, serrated fangs of his. I knew how dangerous and sharp his teeth were and shuddered for Gordon's sake.

Sam's attention was grabbed by Scott when he attacked Castiel, getting a hold of the smaller wolf and pulling him away. I think Sam was trying to hold him down, to get him to stop fighting and minimize the bloodshed like I knew we both wanted, but Scott wouldn't be sedated. He kept trying to attack and I winced when I saw him deal a blow to Sam's shoulder, opening his skin easily with his claws. Sam almost seemed to sigh before he bit down on Scott's trachea, hard enough to cut off his air until the younger wolf passed out and slumped, boneless, to the ground.

The scent of blood was heavy in the air and I looked over to Bobby and the last mottled wolf, who hadn't moved. He was watching the main fight with wary but dispassionate eyes, his body language defensive, but not angry. Bobby's presence was probably keeping him at bay and I didn't think any more of it.

There was so much blood, and the rain was making the unforested ground slippery. I thought I would have a heart attack when Castiel lost his footing in the mud and ended up on his back, winded, at Gordon's mercy, but I shouldn't have doubted him, for he swiped at Gordon before the wolf could even get a blow in, catching his neck and opening him up. Castiel looked intent on shredding every piece of muscle from Gordon's bones, snarling, vengeful light in his eyes and I knew they were speaking to each other from the way Sam's and Bobby's ears were twitching towards them, but I didn't know what they were saying and, frankly, I didn't want to. I knew what Castiel was capable of when angry, but I'd never quite believed him until I watched him kill a wolf right in front of my eyes.

Granted, a wolf that had almost killed me and had been responsible for the loss of our first child and one of his cats, but still.

There wasn't much more than skeleton by the time Castiel was done, and I was pretty sure he would have kept going if I hadn't started coughing, lungs agitated by the rain. At once he was by my side, human, cradling me to his chest and I just let him hold me, nauseous at the scent of blood, mud and sweat that covered him. Gordon was gone but that didn't mean the enemy was, and –

"What do we do with his son?" I whispered, looking up to meet Castiel's eyes, and Sam's over his shoulder. My gaze flashed to the unconscious wolf and Bobby with the stranger, who he was still keeping at bay. "We can't kill him, we can't leave him or take him with us…"

"We could do any of those things," Castiel said flatly, but his eyes were on the last wolf. "But he is not our priority. There are almost a hundred wolves on your borders, Dean, and…" He hesitated.

"What, Cas?" I asked, cupping his face, worried by the distress and lingering anger in his eyes. His hands were gripping me a little too hard and though I didn't want to tell him that and make him stop (because I was so fucking relieved that we were all still _alive _that any touch was good touch) I was worried about what that said for his mental state, that Castiel the ever-overly-protective would touch me hard enough to hurt me. "What did you sense there?"

Castiel's eyes searched mine for a long time before he sighed, resting his forehead against my own. "They've got Adam, Dean."

_"What?"_ Sam gasped, wide eyes finding mine when I looked to him. He put his hand to his mouth, stepping back, getting a far-away look in his eyes. "Shit…"

"They're hostile to anyone in your group, but it looks like there was no Alpha. Gordon had found ragtag outcasts and formed them together. He was the only one I could sense that had any real authority and maybe, if they learn that he's dead, they'll just disband."

"But what about my _brother?_" I asked. "What do they want with him?" I swallowed, thinking of Michael, and had to close my eyes to fight back another wave of nausea and hysteria. "Fuck…" I rubbed my forehead, getting a headache coming on like a bitch, and grimaced. "Okay…okay, here's what we do." I took a deep breath. "We take Camouflage over there with us, and Scott, and we bring them to that settlement. We learn what they want and maybe trade them for Adam." I swallowed again, eyes on the floor.

I couldn't see his expression, but Castiel's body tensed a little. "Perhaps that will work," he said slowly, "but I don't think they'll care very much that we have two of their own. There's no loyalty uniting them. Scott and Balthazar are nothing compared to the link you have with your brothers, Dean."

I frowned, looking up at him. "Baltha-who?"

Castiel blinked, looking over to the stranger wolf. "Balthazar. That's his name." The wolf's ears cocked towards us and he turned his head, glassy blue eyes meeting my own. I looked over at Sam, who seemed just as confused that Castiel knew the name as I did, so I knew it couldn't have been mentioned during phase or anything.

"…How do you know his name, Cas?" I hedged, not wanting to sound suspicious but I think it came out that way anyway.

Castiel sighed, turning so that he could watch 'Balthazar' and still hold onto me, and blue eyes met blue. "Because I've known him for a very long time."

_Before you get all weirded out and mad, I AM GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS SO YAY :D  
It's just getting a little complicated. You might have to start making leaps of judgment with me. ._


	25. Chapter 25

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. The Pack meld is going ahead, and though it's not going exactly smoothly, that's the least of Dean's problems.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Wussy non-wars that Meyer would be proud of .

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

It took me a few minutes to realize it, but once I got it, it seemed obvious.

Balthazar was blind.

Of course he was – no wolf has blue eyes if they don't have some sort of blindness or partial sight. Still, it seemed _weird _because he'd managed to chase me down pretty well and find my neck easily enough. I knew there were instances of other senses becoming heightened with the loss of one but still, it was scarily good, how he managed to hold his own when we escorted him back to the Pack. We put Scott's unconscious body on him, so that none of us were slowed down by him and if Balthazar should bolt he would have the added weight of Scott as well holding him back. I still felt really nauseous and lightheaded from the run, recovering slowly. Sam and Castiel were in front of us and Bobby brought up the rear.

_"Where's Lucifer?"_ I finally asked, remembering that Castiel had taken both a wolf and a cat with him when going to scout the enemy camp. With a pang I remembered Adam, my brother, _God, _my _brother_…If Dad was alive right now he'd tear me apart for losing my baby brother. They could be _hurting _him right now, and he wasn't exactly thinking clearly…

Castiel's tail flickered over my shoulder briefly; he'd hesitated a little so he was walking more alongside me than before. _"He stayed behind on the borders. I told Uriel, Lisa and Jo to stay with him, just in case."_

_"You told Lisa and Jo?" _I asked, angered by that. _"Jo's just had a baby, Cas. What the hell?"_ I couldn't believe that Castiel would tell a new mother to stay in a dangerous situation, wouldn't command her to stay away like he was doing to me.

Castiel's ear twitched a little. _"They were nearby," _he said defensively, _"and I cannot expect my pack or yours to uphold rules that you or I wouldn't." _And I fell silent at that, because I didn't want to fight about this right now. I swallowed back another rolling wave of nausea in my gut, and Jesus I'd kind of hoped morning sickness would have gone away. Apparently not. Or maybe it was the stress…

_"I don't mean to pry." _My eyes flashed over to Balthazar, and I felt another clenching in my gut, but this time for a different reason – this guy was a wild card and I didn't know what to think of him, and that he and Castiel had…_history. _Jesus. I didn't even know what kind of _history_, but my stomach was currently not in agreement with _any _kind. Still, I held my tongue. _"Your kind will be safe," _he said, _"Gordon was only after one wolf," _his eyes flashed to me and I didn't know how he could do that. It was creepy. _"I imagine this whole thing will end very quickly once the rabble comes to realize Gordon is dead."_

Strangely enough that didn't make me feel better, though I know it should have, but I didn't comment. _"How can you chase so well?" _I asked instead, wanting to know how he'd managed to hold his own even with his blindness.

Balthazar cocked his head to one side. If he were human he'd be smiling and I could hear it in his voice. _"I can see what you all see, and I am only partially blind. I can see shadow and when I'm about to run into a tree, and when others are in phase I can pick up images through their eyes, see things that they are not necessarily consciously thinking about. You don't _think _about seeing, you just do it, but I can pick up where you _do _think about it."_

There was nothing overly hostile about him, I think that's what the problem I had with him was. He just showed up, worked for the boss man and then once Gordon died he was all compliant and carefree and just willing to help and reassure. _"Who's side are you on?"_

The smile became a little toothier. _"I'm on my own side, Alpha wolf," _he said plainly, tail flicking behind him and hitting Bobby's nose. The old man shorted and moved his head aside. _"When someone comes along and threatens your mate and friends, you stand up and take notice."_

I frowned, not knowing what he meant by that, but Castiel snarled before I could say a thing; _"What happened was long in the past, Balthazar, and you will do well to remember that you have no ties to my Clan or those in it anymore, do you understand me?"_

He sounded murderous, and I stopped walking, staring at him, shocked, because _seriously, _what the hell? Castiel wouldn't meet my eyes and the whole party ground to a halt because I refused to move and so did Castiel, staring me down while I just stared back at him. So many questions, and his reaction to what I considered to be a pretty innocuous statement just confused and frustrated me. I felt like I was being kept out of the loop in my own war.

_"If Castiel and I leave your escort, will you run?" _I asked Balthazar, wanting to be able to trust him at his word because, to be fair to him, he didn't give me much reason not to. Plus, Sam's pretty fast when he wants to be and Bobby's one hell of a tracker. He wouldn't get far. The mottled wolf bowed his head and I nodded, then bit gently on Castiel's shoulder, tugging. _"You, come with me. We have to talk." _He hesitated briefly. "Now_, Castiel."_

He let out a discontented rumble, but stepped aside and let Balthazar take his place, Bobby on the other side so the three wolves were walking abreast of each other, and I nodded at them to keep going. Sam licked me once on the muzzle before catching up with the rest of the group, and once they were out of sight I changed back into a human. Without Gordon or Scott loose in the woods already I felt a hell of a lot safer. It didn't seem like the enemy pack had planned for full-on invasion, just little bands of enter-attack-flee and without a leader wolves act pretty shittily on their own, and so I didn't fear an attack any time soon. Besides, Castiel was still channeling the 'badass Alpha' thing and so I didn't feel wary of being attacked, or at least of not making it out of an attack.

When he was a human as well, we stared at each other for a long moment, before I sighed, folding my arms over my chest. "Talk," I demanded, and though he knew what I meant the bastard still had the nerve to look confused, frowning and cocking his head to one side.

"What about?" he asked innocently. I almost growled at him.

"Don't play innocent, Cas," I said stiffly. "There's _obviously _something going on here that I'm not getting, and I want in." He blinked at me. "I mean it. Don't keep secrets from me."

It's really hard to concentrate when he's touching me, and he knew that, so I backed away when he reached a hand out to me, wanting to pull me closer, and though I shook my head, he followed me, meeting me step for step and then catching up until I was within the circle of his arms, surrounded by his scent and his warmth and _damn _the fucking pregnancy hormones. I went from angry and frustrated to wanting in three seconds flat.

Castiel didn't press the advantage like I knew he could have. He walked us over to the base of a large pine and sat us down, his back against the trunk and me in his lap, back to chest and between his legs as his arms surrounded me, resting heavily on my chest and the growing bulge of my stomach. He pressed his lips to the mating bite on my neck that was starting to fade, since it had been a while since he'd bitten me in the heat of the moment. Too much stress and not enough time, combined with the idea that he could hurt me if we did anything too strenuous, meant that he was afraid to do more than kiss me for a long while, since Gabriel told me I was pregnant again. Sure, there was that one time I'd made love to him, but that was kind of it.

He was silent for a long while. I think he was waiting for me to relax, loosen my muscles against his skin and leaned into his chest, feeling his heartbeat against my back. He rested his head next to mine; I could feel the stubble on his jaw against my cheek.

"You are not the first wolf my Clan has ever met," he began, softly enough that even as close as he was, I could barely hear him. I tensed up a little, because we all know how _my _meeting with him had gone, and I really hoped he wasn't about to tell me that sleeping with wolves is kind of a thing for him. He brushed a hand along my chest, flattening his palm over my heart and kept talking; "And I feel I should tell you that, because of the way were-cats form their next generation, we are not very diverse genetically. I have many half-brothers through my mother and father, both, and therefore really, it's not a huge exaggeration to say that pretty much every cat in my generation is related to me, one way or another.

As an Alpha, I was encouraged to meet other Clans, to either win over or trade different males and females, so that we can keep our genetic pool as wide as possible." He paused, then, nuzzling against my temple, and I could tell from the way his voice got a little deeper, remembering, that he wasn't quite in the present anymore – his eyes were set years back, probably way before I was even born. "Along our travels, we came across a small werewolf pack. I can't even call it a pack. It was more like three families – three males, two females and several cubs.

One of the males was Balthazar, and he did not have a mate. He was an outsider within that small group and I offered him sanctuary in my Clan, because we met with many wolves along the way and I knew that he would probably, quickly, be able to find a mate or someone willing to take him in along the way."

He sighed gently, his chest rising and falling against my back and I shifted a little, sensing the change of mood coming, bracing myself.

"Balthazar and I grew to be very close friends. He started up an interest with one of my half-brothers, Raphael," he whispered in my ear, his voice low with sorrow and a little anger, hands tightening on my body. "At that time I didn't know how serious wolves were with their relationships. I had to learn the hard way how you thought, how you didn't treat mates the same way we do – that you actually _had _mates." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "When Raphael slept with a female during the mating season, Balthazar was enraged. He tried to kill Raphael and he damn near succeeded – I've never seen a werewolf fight as fiercely as we do, like he was trying to rip Raphael apart atom from atom, and I didn't think anyone in love could be so cruel, but he seemed to have gone mad with anger, with betrayal, and we didn't understand it. In our eyes, Raphael had done nothing wrong."

He sighed again. "He was a very close friend of mine, and Raphael survived before Balthazar could really slay him. It took four of us to pull him off my half-brother's body, and Gabriel had not yet returned to us at this point. It's frankly a miracle he survived that attack at all, and I couldn't bring myself to order Bal's death and he didn't actually murder, so I didn't think I could justify it. I called him to my tent that night and I wanted to talk to him, to see what he had done, how he'd thought, _why, _everything. I had so many questions and it was like he was a whole new person in my eyes. He'd usually been so gentle and light-hearted and it honestly _hurt _to have seen him as anything else."

I closed my eyes, able to imagine it. Balthazar _had _seemed kind to me, if a little of a follower type of wolf, prone to violence if it was ordered of him, and I shuddered, thinking of Adam, how angry he'd been when Michael had died. I thought of Sam and how I could easily see him getting angry over something happening to his mate, but I didn't think _any _of us would hurt our _mates. _It kind of scared me to think of getting so angry, feeling so betrayed, that you would hurt the person you love, hurt them and want them to die. It scared me to sometimes see that anger in Castiel's eyes.

"It was then I learned how you wolves think. How you mate and court and fall in love, like Alphas do, like Bal did, and how you're all so driven by your emotions. Balthazar was devastated when he came back to himself, but he was still so angry, just _thinking _of the betrayal, that eventually I had to banish him from my lands. I couldn't see any other option besides killing him and I didn't want to do that. I knew sending him out on his own would likely kill him but at least it wouldn't be by my hand.

He stayed the night and I allowed him to remain with us until morning so that he wouldn't have to travel at night. During that night while we slept he snuck into Raphael's tent and killed him. We found his body the next morning, and Balthazar was long gone. It broke all ties I will ever have with that wolf."

Castiel's head turned and I felt his lips against my skin, and I closed my eyes, letting out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I could understand _that, _at least – I would have been far less kind to _anyone _who injured my brothers. Even Castiel – I knew now that just because he may not show it, it doesn't mean he doesn't love his brothers very deeply, and I could see him hating a murderer of a half-brother. It made me understand. His other hand moved down over my stomach, gently stroking his thumb along the more swollen bump and he sighed against my neck.

"When I saw him chasing you," he whispered, voice taking on a dangerous edge, "I could see Raphael's body in front of my eyes, knew what he was capable of. Never mind Gordon – I hated that creature, but I _feared _Balthazar." He shivered lightly, shaking his head, and I didn't, for once, want to see what he was seeing. I didn't want to know what he was picturing, how he must have felt, and I swallowed back the guilt that it was _my _fault, because I'd chased after Adam and for what? To have him get captured anyway?

God, this was just turning into a fuck-awful week.

"I didn't know," I finally said, when the silence seemed to be stretching on too long, and turned my head so I could nose against his chin, resting my forehead against his jaw. "I'm sorry I brought it up, I just -."

"I know," he replied with a light smile and a laugh I could feel against my back. "You were jealous," he accused teasingly, stroking a hand over my stomach again. "You thought I had a habit of seducing wolves."

"If I recall correctly, _I _seduced _you,_" I snapped back, unable to come up with anything else and he laughed again, kissing the bridge of my nose (which was _not _totally adorable and did _not _make me blush, thank you). "That's how you know so much about us, isn't it?" I asked. "You learned us first-hand."

He nodded, sighing a little, eyes on the ground beneath us. "It was also why my Clan hated you and Sam at first. We live long lives and don't forget things very quickly or easily. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of them looked at you two and just saw Raphael's dead body. It's also why, when I laid my claim to you, the Clan weren't all that surprised. It had happened before."

I swallowed, hesitating over the next question I wanted to ask, and he nuzzled against my neck again, pulling me a little closer. "Speak, Dean," he encouraged, "let me ease your heart."

"I just…" I looked down again, biting my lip, trying to think of _how _I wanted to ask; "If, when you first met me and Sam, you were just reminded of _him, _why did you…well, why didn't you just kill us? Why accept what I was offering and not just cast us away or throw us to the mob or something, if you knew how emotional we could get?"

He paused again, his thumb still moving over my stomach, and I felt him take a big, heavy breath, shivering when he exhaled against my shoulder. "Because you didn't leave Sam behind," he whispered. I turned my head, finally meeting his eyes, confused. They were dark and almost five different shades of blue. Beautiful. "Balthazar was easily led from his pack and his family. You sacrificed your freedom for your brother, defended him and yourself, you stood up to me, you fought for people you didn't know and tried to help people who hated you. For years you have been trying to mend the divide between our peoples and you've been succeeding – you know our ways better than Balthazar did. You had – and still do have – fire in your heart and the logic to put in place, and the recklessness to take risks and the luck to have them, mostly, not blow up in your face. You are a fascinating, beautiful creature, Dean, and I count every second that I am with you as the happiest times of my life."

"…Do you rehearse speeches like that?" I asked, half-teasing, and smiled shakily at him when he laughed.

"It just comes out," he replied sardonically with a roll of his eyes, and then placed another light kiss to my lips, his arms squeezing a little tighter around me. "Now, we aren't out of the woods yet, so to speak. Do you think you can walk with me back to the pack or would you like to rest some more?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" I complained, still smiling though, and forced myself to my feet, pulling him up after me. I really didn't want to leave the circle of his arms but there was still stuff to do before we were even remotely 'out of the woods' again, and I wanted my pack to be safe more than anything else at that moment. Besides, the nausea seemed to have passed and I was feeling a lot better. I changed into a wolf and waited until Castiel was a cat again before we took off running, though I noticed he didn't let us run too fast (commence eye-rolling), and we managed to catch up with Sam, Bobby and Balthazar right on the border of our camp.

* * *

I ended up bringing almost every cat and wolf I could spare, that I thought were capable or should be there in the confrontation. Balthazar still carried Scott on his back and was keeping weirdly silent, and we met Jo, Lisa and Lucifer on the borders, several hundred feet away from the other camp. I could smell their scents, as we were downwind from them.

Now that I knew, I wasn't surprised when we led Balthazar through the camp, at Castiel's people's reactions – I was more prepared for them than Sam and Bobby were, I can tell you. There was a risk of an outright fight more than once, but that was _nothing _compared with when he met Anna.

Let's just say we had to physically restrain her.

The air was uneasy and I let them sense us, coming out into the open air. We weren't going to skulk around like thieves or anything – I wanted this open and honest and, hopefully, peaceful. Balthazar stood between me and Castiel, and Scott was still unconscious (either he'd been knocked _re_unconsciou_s, _or Sam'd done a number on him. I wasn't going to ask which). The other wolves _were _rag-tag. A lot of them were lone males and females – there wasn't a mated pair in sight and the youngest wolf there was Scott. It made me strangely sad for a moment, but we were here on business.

Time to cut to the chase; _"Gordon is dead," _I announced, not wanting to beat around the bush. There was a low murmuring through the other wolves. _"And we have two of your people. I'm willing to give them over in exchange for mine, and we can call this a huge misunderstanding and put it behind us." _

There was a pause, and it was too long for my liking. I really had to push this thing home. _"I will warn you that if you do _not _agree to this, I will have no problem laying you all to waste. I have easily twice your number," _A lie, but they didn't need to know that, _"and many more allies coming in all the time. I think compliance is in your best interests."_

One of the females stepped forward, her upper lip curling back to show white, serrated teeth. _"No need for threats, Alpha wolf," _she sneered, and though I bristled at her tone I let it slide, because it wouldn't do to start something just because I was too prideful to bear a little condescension. _"We'll exchange and go. But know that this abomination of a pack won't be stood for much longer. There are more like us and we will not stand by forever while you grow strong and _inbreed _with these _pests."

There were growls from around the assembled were-cats, but they were silenced when Castiel projected an image at the female. It was the image of him tearing Gordon apart and the subtle intent to do it again. I was a little smug when she fell silent, tail and head dropping down just a little.

_"Bring the captives," _she commanded and two male wolves nodded and went away behind the line. Confusion ran through me for a moment. _"We will trade."_

Castiel nodded to Balthazar who walked across the divide, bearing Scott still, and as he crossed into the protection of the enemy wolves two bodies were dumped into the No Man's Land between us. One of them I recognized as Adam immediately – he looked a little bruised but there was no blood on him and even as I watched he moaned, blinking blearily towards us. I let out a little sigh of relief, and then looked towards the second.

He was very thin, possibly malnourished, and tanned from many days in the sun. He looked like someone had taken several rounds with him with their claws – the side of his neck bore the marks of three slashes from under his ear to down, around his shoulder and then up under his arm again, ending at his heart. There were also deep furrows dug into his hips and legs and bruises marred his body. His hair was short; a jet black and lightened with mud and blood crusted the side of his face. He wasn't moving but I could hear his slow, steady heartbeat, and his wrists were reddened and scarred from rope burns.

_"We didn't have a second man," _I whispered to Castiel, for I didn't recognize that man, and then I heard Gabriel gasp.

_"Sean?"

* * *

_

HAPPY 2011 EVERYONE! :D


	26. Chapter 26

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean now has to deal with the struggles and drama of his family life since the main threat has gone. To be honest, the threat of war was easier to deal with.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Of all the were-cats, Gabriel was the only one who seemed to recognize this 'Sean' person, and he ran forward, skidding to a halt next to the man and changed back into a human, kneeling down and cradling the limp man's shoulders to his body, cupping the side of his face to see if he was dead or merely unconscious. I had to hope for the latter because the enemy wolves wouldn't trade a dead body.

The enemy wolves were quick to disperse once Balthazar and Scott disappeared into their ranks, but I didn't pay them much attention and I trusted my pack to warn or help me if they tried any foul play, and I went towards my little brother, who was shifting with a groan, blinking bleary eyes open. I sighed in relief, seeing that he didn't look _too _badly injured – just a little bruised around his wrists where I assumed there would have been restraints of some kind, and he looked like he'd taken a good hit to the ribcage, but he was breathing fine and only winced when he sat up so I had to figure he was okay. I knelt down in front of him, changing back into a human in time for his eyes to sharpen and focus on me. "Dean?" he asked hesitantly, as though trying to remember my name.

Without thinking I started hugging him tightly, so worried and only now just letting it out. "Don't you fucking do that again, you hear me?" I growled into his hair, ignoring the way he tensed in discomfort – he could bear a freaking hug before I let him heal. "Running off into the woods without thinking is my gig, not yours."

He laughed a little when I let him go, smiling, though it was shaky around the edges, and he looked down, biting his lip and picking at the grass. "I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly, Alpha. I'm sorry," he murmured, swallowing, and I settled the matter with brushing a hand through his hair because I knew he was sorry and I couldn't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in his position. I was just glad he was still alive and mostly unhurt.

Castiel and Sam had gathered around the stranger as well but Sam was holding back, lips set in a thin line as he kept a respectful distance away from the two cats and the stranger. I joined him and placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing until he turned his head towards me. "Are you okay, Sammy?" I asked, not liking the look in his eyes.

Sam bit his lower lip and shrugged, trying to smile in a carefree way and failing. "I guess…I don't know." He shook his head, hair falling forward to hide his face and I pushed it away, and he did it again so I couldn't see his expression. I rolled my eyes and made an exasperated sound but didn't do it again. "Gabriel obviously knows who he is," he said in tight, defensive tone, and I watched as he clenched his fists into his biceps, digging his nails into his own skin and I moved my hand to try and soothe the fists away.

"Gabriel travelled a lot. He knows a lot of people," I murmured, knowing that that wouldn't have made any difference to what Sam was thinking. My brother swallowed and nodded and I threaded my fingers through his. "Come on, we need to go see if they need help." I didn't know who this person was to elicit such a strong reaction from the usually cool were-cat, but anyone that important in Gabriel's life to deserve such a reaction was also someone Sam needed to be able to get close to and get along with. I remembered the feeling I'd had when thinking Balthazar and Cas had had a _thing, _and swallowed back my lecture to Sam, knowing I was no better.

Who knows – this could have all been innocent anyway.

Gabriel was lifting the man's eyelids, checking his pupils when we approached and crouched down next to him and Cas. I nudged Sam, who swallowed again. "Is there anything we can do to help?" he asked softly, slowly, hesitating around the words and Gabriel looked up.

"Um…yeah, I…" He stopped, frowning, his brow furrowing as he thought before he pinched the bridge of his nose with blood-stained fingertips. "_Shit, _I know this…I know this…How the hell do you -?" He looked towards Castiel, who shrugged. Gabriel was getting so stressed out and worked up, agitated, I'd call it. His hands shook when he moved them around the other man's body, checking all of his wounds. "Damn it, my mind's just gone blank," he growled, angry at his own mental block, put there by his roiling emotions. I nudged Sam again.

"Gabriel…Gabe, calm down," my brother said, on cue, placing a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, and he looked at me for a moment, nodding his head, before he stood, his stronger grip managing to pull Gabriel away from the stranger while Castiel and I attended to him as Sam tried to calm Gabriel down. "Alright, Gabriel, listen – no, don't look at them, look at me, alright? Calm down…there we go, just breathe with me, baby, alright…Now, you know this." Sam's voice was coaxing and I could just see out of the corner of my eye how he petted through Gabriel's hair and made him meet Sam's eyes, and I could see how much Gabriel's hands were shaking when they rested on Sam's chest, and he swallowed. "Okay. He's got mud around his injuries – no, Gabriel, it's alright – he's alive. He's breathing and his heartbeat is steady, right? Good. Now, the first thing to do when there's dirt around the cuts is to…?"

Gabriel swallowed again, nodding. "Clean them. Then that lavender salve, and he'll need to eat Goldenseal and Kelp, and…and…Yes, clean them, sew them up. Need to rub some ointment on his wrists, check for internal injuries. Yes."

"Good, Gabriel, that's good, thank you," Sam replied, and I could see him take Gabriel's hand and lead him back towards Castiel and I. "Now, just the same thing," Sam coaxed as they both kneeled down next to us. Gabriel seemed to be back in his element now, even if he did look a little shaken still, and carefully rolled Sean's body to see his back. The man had a huge bite mark on the back of his neck and the three slashes that extended over his shoulder, around to just graze his spine and then under his arm again but they were old, scabbing over. The furrows dug into his hips and legs were fresh and still bleeding and there was blood crusted in his hair.

Gabriel frowned at the bite mark but didn't say anything. "We'll have to wait until he's awake to check for any further damage," he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair and blowing out the breath he'd been holding. "I need someone to carry him back to the camp."

"I'll do it," Sam replied, carefully putting his arms under Sean's limp body and picking him up. He looked tiny and frail against Sam's chest, and I didn't miss the grateful look Gabriel shot his way. The wolves and cats from our packs had already begun to filter back, sensing the fight to be over and leaving us to our 'patient', and I knew Adam had been taken back with the pack, so we all stood and walked as humans back towards the camp.

* * *

We were about three miles away when I just _had _to ask. "He's your son, isn't he?" Gabriel and Castiel shot me a look. "I mean, he looks like you," I added, floundering a little and gesturing to my own face. "Same features, kind of. And, like…I don't know. He kind of smells like you." Gabriel and Castiel were still both fixing me with _looks, _so I clamped my mouth shut after that, looking to Sam for a little help.

He rolled his eyes and said nothing. Bitch.

Gabriel smiled after a moment, looking to the man in Sam's arms. "Yeah," he said in a tone that was one part happiness, three parts wistfulness. "Sean's my baby." He reached out, like he was going to touch Sean, but his eyes flashed to Sam and he lowered his hand again. "I haven't seen him since I left him with Baldur's Clan."

"You left him with _Baldur?"_ Castiel asked, eyes wide and fixed on his brother in shock. "Gabriel, that's hardly two days' run from where we lived." He sounded…angry, almost, like Gabriel had been withholding some terrible secret from him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't any of your business," Gabriel replied stiffly. "And _technically _I left him with Odin, Kali and Mercury, and they _joined _Baldur's Clan within a couple of years. I didn't want him far away from me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair and I knew he was keeping track of Sam's reactions without looking at him – Gabriel's anxiety was tangible in the air. "I wanted to think that, at any point, I could change my mind and get him back, but I never did. I…I mean, what must he think of me? I _left_ him." He snorted, bitter smile playing on his face and shook his head again. I caught Sam's eyes, seeing the look my little brother was giving Gabriel – wishing he could comfort Gabriel but his arms were currently occupied with Gabriel's son. Instead I reached out and touched him, lightly grazing his shoulder and Sam shot me a grateful look. We didn't talk again until we reached my and Castiel's tent.

* * *

Castiel went to get Gabriel's Healer bag and I felt like a third wheel so I went outside the tent, but Sam told me what happened in so I can put it in here now;

_Gabriel looked over at me, and he looked so afraid, like he was expecting me to start going all dominant Alpha male on him and rip him new ones over something that happened before I was born and something that he didn't have control over, that I didn't want to hold against him._

_"I…" He trailed off, one hand going to his slightly swollen stomach and he bit his lip, dark pain in his eyes and I sighed – I had to end this _now _before Gabriel got the wrong ideas._

_"Listen, Gabriel," I murmured, scooting closer to him and pulling him close to me. I hated how much he relaxed into my arms, shaking and tense before I stroked a hand over his bite. "I love you, alright? You're my mate, and I _know _you had a child. Granted, I never expected to meet him face to face but it's okay and it doesn't change a thing, alright?"_

_Gabriel shivered against me, burying his face in my neck and he threw his arms around me, holding me close. "But…I mean, what about -?"_

_"Look, does it matter to you?" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter to me, either. I love you and nothing's going to change that, and if you need any help with this I'm more than willing to help, despite the fact that Sean's probably as old as my grandfather."_

_Gabriel chuckled and –_

Castiel and I returned with his Healer bag, and Castiel set it down next to Gabriel's leg and took his place on the other side of Sean's prone body. Gabriel swallowed, wiping at his eyes surreptitiously and we pretended not to notice, and then he began to rummage around, pulling out things like bandages, needles and thread, and a salve that I recognized as the one he'd used on me when checking up on the wounds Gordon had dealt me.

I don't know how long we sat like that, watching him work in silence, but eventually Sean stirred. I swear you could have heard a pin drop in the silence of the four of us waiting for the were-cat to fully wake up (I assumed he had to be all cat, but wasn't sure). His eyes fluttered open to reveal irises of the same hazel color father (and by that I meant Gabriel) had, and when he fully opened his eyes it took him a second to focus. It took all my will power not to lean forward and try and see his face as he became aware – that was Gabriel's job.

"Sean?" Gabriel asked, reaching a hand forward and lightly touching his fingertips to his son's heart, and the young were-cat flinched at the touch for a moment, his eyes widening in fear, and he struggled to sit up. Gabriel and Sam helped him and he tore away from Sam's touch with a growl. "Sean, what's wrong?"

"Wolves," he spat, eyeing me and Sam with a wary, aggressive gaze. "Wolves…God…" He winced, making a pained grunting sound and put his hand on his injured shoulder, rubbing at the sore muscle. "They gave me this."

Gabriel's eyes widened at that. I could tell how much he was trying not to reach forward towards Sean. "I'm…sorry, my son, I'm sorry, but you have nothing to fear from these wolves. They are friendly – they are kind." Sean snarled at that, clearly showing how he felt about _that _statement. "_Sean._"

"Stop it!" he growled back, baring his teeth. "Stop talking to me like you have a right to do it anymore. You…you _left._" His voice broke, and it was like a horrible moment stretched out so that it seemed endless, identical hazel eyes meeting each other and holding, pain on both sides. "You _left _me with that Clan and I didn't even find out about how close you were until this year, and then when I'd managed to almost find you, you'd already gone! I followed, I tried to find you again and only found an army. _You _could have found me first but you left me there and I thought that maybe you might have had a reason – maybe you had left because you were trying to find my other father or maybe you'd fallen ill or gotten lost somewhere, but no." He snorted derisively. "You were off _settling _with the enemy."

"I had to leave," Gabriel answered, his voice soft, without heat or energy behind it. He looked _broken._ "I had no idea what I was doing, Sean, and I…shit, I shouldn't have been able to _have _you at all and I did, and I was alone and so much younger, and afraid. I don't think I made the wrong decision leaving you with Odin and Kali and Mercury but I _do _regret never seeking you out again." He swallowed, tears building up in his eyes, and I looked away. I knew I shouldn't have been here, eavesdropping on such an intimate and heartbreaking reunion, but it was too late to leave now. "I regretted it every day, but I had a duty to my Clan again – I was made Beta and I stayed and I thought maybe one day Odin would tell you about me. You can't hold bad timing against me."

_"Bad timing?"_ Sean asked, incredulous and scathing. He tossed his head slightly and then winced as it pulled at his muscles, rubbing his shoulder again. "I'm almost fifteen hundred years old, _father. _You had plenty of time to make 'good timing'." He hissed again, rubbing at his shoulder once more and Gabriel's eyes followed the action. He swallowed and so did Sean, and I could see their resemblance even more now. In their emotional states, they almost looked like brothers, except for Sean's wounds and his hair.

"I need to continue assessing you," Gabriel said after a long moment, "to see if you're further wounded." Sean flinched away.

"Don't you touch me," he snapped.

Castiel growled, obviously having enough. "You listen, _boy,_" he snarled, fixing Sean with one of those unavoidable, penetrating stares and even though it wasn't directed at me, I shivered under the weight of it in sympathy for Sean. "Your father is a great Healer, the best I've ever seen, and a lot of cats and wolves alike owe him their lives – and _you_, you ungrateful child, are one of those cats. He bore you in his body for nine terrifying months of his life after your other father abandoned him, and at least he took _care _of you until you were old enough to have a chance on your own, which is more than I can say for the other bastard who knocked him up. He gave you to good people who would raise you right and until you decided to seek him out, I assume you were happy and healthy." He paused, taking a deep breath. His hand was shaking with what I could only assume was rage when it found mine, squeezing with enough force to hurt. "Don't you _dare _presume to know how he felt when he gave you up because you cannot possibly imagine the pain involved when losing a child that isn't even born yet, let alone one you've raised for much of its young life. To make that decision despite his own feelings? Your father is a stronger man than I could _ever _hope to be and you will show him some Goddamn respect."

Sean swallowed when Castiel finally released him from the power of his eyes, and he looked down, taking in a deep, shaky breath. I've never seen so much gratitude reflected on Sam or Gabriel's face when they looked at my mate and I squeezed his hand gently back, smiling when he met my eyes.

Gabriel's son looked down for a moment, swallowing again, and then took a deep breath. His hand slowly moved away from his shoulder and settled in his lap. "I…okay," he said, swallowing again, and his shoulders hunched forward, obviously cowed by Castiel's speech, and yeah – Cas is _so _going to be the disciplinarian when the kid comes along. I couldn't see myself saying shit like that without caving. "Okay. I'm…I…" He looked up, meeting his father's eyes, pleading, and swallowed again.

Gabriel smiled shakily. "Okay," he whispered, wiping his hands on his thighs. "Dean, Cas? Can you guys…leave?" Castiel nodded before I could reply, pulling on my hand until we were both standing and he pulled me out of the tent. Once my brain caught up I realized that it had probably been for the best – there was a whole shitload of complicated relationships in that tent and the three of them would probably have a lot of shit to talk through.

_Jesus, _but what a day. I sighed out the breath I'd been holding and squeezed Castiel's hand, claiming his attention. "Please," I begged, only half-joking, "tell me now if you have any illegitimate children I should know about."

His smile was small but there. "No, Dean, I have no children," he said in reply, leading me towards my tent but I shook my head, pulling on his hand so he stopped. "What is it?"

"Those people that raised Sean, they obviously cared about him," I began, pausing for a moment, "and they haven't heard from him for God knows how long, and…I mean, shouldn't we tell them that he's safe and that he and Gabriel have been reunited? I would want to know if my charge had run off to find his father, that he was okay."

Castiel paused, cocking his head to one side, and I flushed a little under his appraising stare. "What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, Dean, I'm just…I'm always astounded by the lengths you will go for other people." He drew closer, wrapping his arms around me. "Always thinking of other people…" His hand came to rest on my stomach and his thumb stroked over the rise just a little. I blushed a bit more. "It just keeps catching me by surprise, is all. I keep waiting to find a limit."

"You make it sound like a limit would be a good thing," I replied, resting my forehead against his neck and inhaling his scent. He 'hmm'ed against my skin, stroking through my hair and I relaxed against him before opening my eyes once more. "Very well. We'll organize a group to make the journey and leave as soon as you wish to."


	27. Chapter 27

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean now has to deal with the struggles and drama of his family life since the main threat has gone. To be honest, the threat of war was easier to deal with.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

_**Sam, Gabriel and Sean Timestamp. Set after Castiel and Dean left the tent at Gabriel's request. Outsider POV.**_

Gabriel waited barely a second after Castiel and Dean's departure before he was standing, moving towards his son, ready to make sure he learned every cut, every scrape, every injury both on the outside and inward, because if he knew then he could fix it. He was a _fixer_. It's what he did, almost compulsively.

Sean, though, shied away from Gabriel's touch, his hazel eyes large and fixed on Sam who had yet to move. "Does he have to be here too?" he whispered, though why he couldn't say – it wasn't like Sam was out of earshot or anything even with the stage-whisper, and Gabriel sighed and kneeled down next to Sean, on the side of him that bore his injured shoulder, reaching out and rubbing at the sore muscle with enough of a grip that it hurt, but in the good way. Sean let out a little hiss, instinctively relaxing into the touch.

"I'm afraid you'll have to get used to Sammy's presence," Gabriel replied with a lighter tone than he felt he should have, his eyes tracking to his mate. "Sam's my mate now, and we're having a kid together." There was no sense beating around the bush – that was what people did when they felt guilty about something and Gabriel was far from guilty about anything he had or did with Sam. Sam was a huge part of his world and he could never feel bad about that.

Sean sucked in a breath, fixing his eyes on the wolf who smiled a little, sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head. "Yeah," Sam said, "your father" and _God, what a weird thing to say_ "and I have been mated for a few months now."

"How did…how did you guys even meet each other?" Sean asked, wide-eyed but seemingly more curious than disgusted, which lightened Gabriel's heart and made him relax a little as he coaxed Sean into a more relaxed position, laying down and pillowing his head on a mound of bear fur so that Gabriel could lay him on his side and check out the bite on his neck and the slashes along his shoulder and down his sides. He lay Sean so that the cat and wolf could see each other on purpose.

Sam chuckled, again with that sheepish smile, his eyes flashing to Gabriel with love and affection, so much that it made the corners of Sean's mouth twitch upwards, just a little. "It's actually a weird story," Sam said. "Basically my brother has been trying to lead us to, like, mend the divide and stuff between wolves and cats. We've been making steady progress for years and were visiting a neighbor of Castiel's Clan. On the way back Dean and I got lost because we're idiots, and were captured by Castiel and Gabriel's pack." Gabriel smiled in remembrance, absently pushing Sean's hair back from his neck and observing the bite. Sean hissed when his fingers brushed over it but otherwise didn't move.

"I was pretty badly injured and Gabriel healed me. He's really a fantastic healer – wolves, well, we don't have stuff like that. If you don't get better, you die." Sam swallowed at that, his eyes growing dark as he remembered the disease that had ravaged the pack not even four months ago, that had targeted the children. "A lot of people owe him their lives."

Sean smiled, seemingly unable to help himself, and rolled his shoulders when Gabriel pressed against the marks on his side. "Ouch, old man," he growled, swatting playfully at his father's hands, his smile belying the heat in his voice. Gabriel grinned back but there were tears in his eyes.

"Gabe, what's wrong?" Sam asked, suddenly worried for his mate, moving closer.

"Nothing, nothing, I just…" Hurriedly Gabriel wiped at his eyes, still smiling like it was the happiest day of his life. "I'm just getting emotional. Ignore the pregnant guy." Sam snorted a laugh and Sean joined in, making Gabriel's smile grow. "Sean, I…" He swallowed, laying his hands on his son again. "You need to roll over now. Doesn't look like you have any internal injuries, thank God for that, but these claw marks…and the bite…Sean, what did they _do_ to you?"

The were-cat followed his father's coaxing, lying on his stomach and Gabriel began to prod around his spine, where dark bruises lay dotted across him. One of them surrounded a large claw wound that had opened up his entire side, but it had healed over long ago and now there was just a scar.

"They…" He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, his hands moving up to bury themselves in the thick black fur of the bear skin, moving his head so that he didn't have to look at either his father nor Sam. "There was this big guy – like three times my size. He came every day and worked me over once they'd caught me."

"That rag-tag pack?" Gabriel asked, shocked, and Sean nodded. The were-cat's lip curled back in a snarl. "I'll kill them. I swear to God, I will."

"Don't," Sean replied quickly, reaching back with his hand and finding Gabriel's thigh, settling and squeezing gently. "I kind of…brought it on myself. Didn't realize I was trespassing into wolf territory – they said it was their lands, that I was breaking the laws and they caught me. I couldn't run fast enough and I've been with them for a few months now. The big guy was their leader or something."

"Was he the one who bit you?" Gabriel asked, because biting another cat or wolf is a serious crime, and when Gabriel brushed a hand over Sean's neck, the boy shivered. Well, he looked like a boy at least, almost as physically old as Sam was. The bite didn't reek of hormones and it looked relatively old, but still, Gabriel had to be sure because whoever _did _bite Sean would have to be brought to justice, no matter what the situation was.

"Yeah," Sean replied, swallowing. "Dragged me by the neck to a fence post and tied me there, right in the middle of their camp so they could hit me and spit on me as they passed." He snarled, old anger flaring up inside of him and he pushed himself up, rolling back over so he was no longer in such a vulnerable position. "Wolves are savages," he spat.

Gabriel's eyes flashed to Sam's at the words, but Sam wasn't angry at that – well, his eyes were dark, but from the way he was looking at Sean's _wounds_, not at the boy himself, Gabriel figured it wasn't directed at his son.

"It's true we are violent," Sam said after a long moment of staring contests and silent breathing. Sean turned hazel eyes the exact shade of his father's over to Sam, who leaned forward and tentatively placed a hand on Sean's forearm. The were-cat didn't flinch away. "We are very…well, I guess you could say overly-emotional. Our lives, our very existences, are snap decisions and a lot of life-or-death situations. Where we live, we aren't the biggest or the strongest or the fastest things out there – the forest is dangerous and a lot of the times we need the extra pushes our bodies can give us." His other hand moved to his heart, then his head, then back down to brace himself on the furs. His tone dripped with sincerity and it reflected in his eyes. "But not all of us hate so much, so wrongly. Some of us realize that this…this _prejudice_, it is stupid, and wrong, and against our very nature as pack creatures. If Dean and I hadn't been from a pack that tolerated cats, I can't imagine what could have happened to us, to our people. I don't _want _to imagine it."

His eyes flashed to Gabriel and he swallowed, before fixing his eyes on Sean again. "I know we can't erase what happened to you or what ordeals you've been through, but, if you're willing, I know it would mean a lot to your father and to me if you stayed, stayed with the pack and learned that we're not all monsters like Gordon."

Gabriel blinked in surprise when Sam suggested that Sean stay, and the younger cat looked equally shocked, having never seen such an act of kindness or a gesture from a wolf before. He was doing a very good impression of a fish out of water with his wide eyes and gaping mouth. Finally, he swallowed, looking over his shoulder to his father who squeezed his wrist reassuringly, his own hand seemingly drawn there while Sam had spoken.

"I would love if you would stay, Sean," he whispered, like the words were too delicate to say loudly, and Sean swallowed again, trying to keep his emotions in check. Finally he took a deep breath and swallowed again, then nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll stay."

* * *

Within three days we were ready to go. I was a little surprised that Sean had taken such a one-eighty in his attitude so quickly, but honestly I know I shouldn't have been – Sammy just has that way with people, able to get them to break so easily with a flash of those stupid puppy eyes and a toss of his ridiculous hair.

Still, I was glad because the kid definitely knew the area. He worked with Castiel planning our route. Usually it would have been a three- to four-day run, but Castiel refused on letting me go if we were just going to run as fast as we could (as I knew we would), so the journey ended up being planning for a little over a week. I thought it was a bit excessive myself but I'd probably maxed out Castiel's patience with my recklessness, so I decided to let it slide. Besides, we were in no hurry – Baldur's Clan was very stationary and they weren't going to disappear any time soon.

Although all four of us – Cas, Sam, Gabriel and I – wanted to go, we couldn't just abandon our pack while _all _the higher ups went away. I would have suggested Gabriel because he was the healer and he had such a good report with the packs but he was Sean's _father,_ and it might have been kind of awkward to show up there without the guy. Castiel knew better than to suggest I stay behind, so Sam agreed to do it, running the pack with Uriel and Adam (who'd made a full recovery, thank God). I knew they would be okay until we managed to get back, especially with the likes of Bobby and Rufus keeping them in line.

Sean, of course, was going to come too. It was just us – Castiel, me, Gabriel and Sean – because we wanted to travel light and when we got there we didn't want to put too much of a dent on their food supplies because that was just rude. Apparently, once we had crossed into Baldur's territory, there would be plenty of food and even more shelter so I wasn't that worried. The plains we would have to cross, though, while we were there, would probably be a bitch shelter-wise. We could curl up together for warmth but sometimes the nights got bitterly cold, so we created a saddle-bag-like thing that Castiel carried just behind his shoulders that held furs and a small portable tent that we could put up in emergencies.

We went in a direction that I had never been before, way down South and to the East. Sean had a fantastic sense of direction – way better than I could have done, let me tell you – and led us nicely down through my lands and into Castiel's. We'd be cutting through the top corner of his territory until we reached the mountains that separated his and Baldur's lands.

On the third day, I saw strange block-like objects on the horizon.

_"What is that?" _I asked, nudging Castiel gently with my tail as we slowed, and I stopped running, trying to see better as to what that…was. I'd never seen anything like it before. They seemed to touch the clouds, bigger…_buildings_? Than anything I'd ever seen.

_"That,_" Castiel replied, following my gaze, _"used to be called 'Boston'. It was a very large city during the human era, and one of the oldest that they ever built. Almost seven and a half million people lived there at one point."_

_"No kidding,_" I replied, unable to fathom that kind of number. I'd maybe seen three hundred creatures ever gathered in one place at one time. I couldn't imagine over seven million people cramped into such a small area. _"How did they live like that?"_

Castiel shrugged, his whiskers twitching. _"Well, there were many lesser areas of Boston and it spread out a lot, but still, even then, sometimes life got very cramped for them." _He shook out his coat briefly, like a dog, and I snorted a laugh. _"I used to live in Atlanta, very far down South. It was not nearly as large and I lived far from the city proper but it was still too cramped for my liking. I think humans evolved to live a very different way than we do."_

_"I don't think I could live like that," _I confessed, shaking my head, feeling confined just thinking about it.

_"No," _Castiel replied, fixing me with a look. _"Your generation never had to. You have many lands and few people. I like it better. Perhaps, though, one day we will all get so densely populated again that there will be a city of werewolves and cats."_

I shuddered at the idea and Castiel huffed out a laugh, and we kept moving.

* * *

Castiel was curled up around me when night fell, covering us with a bear fur even though we remained as animals and therefore had fur anyway, but I didn't complain because his body heat felt nice and the wind was beginning to pick up for the night. Gabriel and Sean slept together as well, although admittedly a lot more…platonically than Cas and I did. I suppose that's normal, though, after all.

Castiel's rough tongue licked along my head, between my ears, and I snorted, shaking my head so he'd cut it out and bared my teeth in a smile at him. Then, I settled back down to rest, curling myself up around my stomach because I was afraid that if I didn't keep my core warm enough then maybe the baby would suffer for it. Castiel's body was a warm line of fur and heat along my back and his head rested on my neck, his body half over me.

I waited until I was sure Sean and Gabriel had fallen asleep, and then lifted my eyes to him. _"I want to go to Boston,_" I said, feeling an insatiable kind of curiosity, wanting to see how humans had lived back then. _"On the way back, after we visit Baldur's Clan. I want you to show me it."_

He blinked slowly at me – I could tell he had been about to fall asleep when I started talking again and I felt briefly guilty before his amusement trickled through our mental link, and he licked me between the ears again. Bastard. _"I think that's a good idea, Dean. There's so much you can learn just from looking at the past._"

I rolled my eyes. _"The past happens to dead people, Cas," _I said before I could stop myself, then added; _"I'm just curious is all."_

_"Yeah, sure." _Castiel landed a playful bite to my ear and I laughed, dislodging him from over me with the movement of my ribs, but he was quick to retake his place, purring loudly and harsh enough that I could feel it against my back. _"We will make a stop along the way. I'm sure there are many great things that you can be shown, to, ah, _satisfy your curiosity._" _I rolled my eyes at his tone but said nothing – just let my contentment filter through to him.

_"Thanks, Cas."_

_"Go to sleep, now, Dean. We still have much traveling to do."

* * *

_

Odin was a _beast_.

He was the biggest were-cat I'd ever seen, towering above me, grey around his muzzle and feet and ears but the rest of him was a dark, dark golden color, like the sun as it's about to set, and every inch of him exploded with muscle. I'll admit it, I was a little intimidated, but Sean ran up to the guy like he was an overly stuffed toy, tackling the giant with a playful snarl while Gabriel, Cas and I watched.

When they were done, reunion over, Sean nuzzled into Odin's shoulder, and other cats that I could only assume were Kali, Mercury and Baldur himself greeted us. Gabriel was welcomed with open arms and, by extension, Castiel and I were too. It seemed that Baldur's Clan was also open to welcoming wolves and I was glad because as soon as I entered their camp I was uncomfortably aware that I was the only wolf there.

Turns out Sean had left a little over a year ago, told about Gabriel when he'd come of age, how his father had only been two days' run away. There were a lot of tears exchanged and hugs and heartfelt greetings and 'You take care of him, now's and it was all very heart warming. I could tell that Sean came from a good family, here, and it was almost sad to have taken him away, but as Odin rightly said; "You're with your real father now and it's as it should be." Odin was by far the friendliest cat, as Baldur remained kind of aloof and above it all (like someone else I knew) and Kali just kind of watched us like she was deciding how best to skin us and eat us alive. It was a little unnerving, having those dark brown eyes on me and Castiel constantly, appraising, but when she stood up and approached it was only to wish me luck with the baby and share a kind of smile with Castiel before she, too, left. Mercury, a wiry little black cat, just nudged Sean playfully before he made his way apart from us. I think he and Sean used to be playmates – he was a lot younger than the other cats and wasn't nearly as big.

Seriously, though, the mountains bred _giants_. Even the females were almost as big as I was if not bigger and it made me feel a little puny, like I hadn't felt since I'd been at Castiel's Clan for the first time – it was like you could feel the energy and power vibrating in the air. I couldn't imagine living like that all the time – it was akin to the feeling I'd had when thinking about living in Boston. So confined and stifling.

* * *

Gabriel and Sean weren't interested in coming with Cas and me to Boston, and I got the feeling that they wanted to stay behind and maybe have a longer catch-up than just those few short hours. After all, Gabriel had been gone for a very long time and I could see how much Odin, Kali and Mercury cared about him, even if cats naturally don't show it very well. So we left him and Sean behind and Castiel took me towards Boston. It took us three days to get there because I was feeling a little queasy so of course Castiel demanded that I didn't strain myself.

The buildings were so _varied_. Even crumbling and close to ruin I could see what they could have looked like when they stood proud and tall. There were large gaping holes in the side of them and Castiel told me that they had once been windows, which had held a see-through kind of substance that was hard and brittle like tree-bark but stronger, used to seal buildings but allow light in and allow the people inside to see out. Most of them were smashed apart and broken glass littered the floor. We had to tread carefully. Nature had done its damndest to try and reclaim the city – trees grew out of the side of buildings, and weeds and vines encircled the bottom edges of terraced houses and apartment blocks. I'd never been so close to a city before – had never seen one except for what my mind could conjure up when my parents and grandparents told me stories of them.

Only one of them was completely untouched by nature. It was bright and clean, well-polished and well-kept. All the windows were still intact. It was obvious that someone had either taken up residence here, or somewhere near here. Curious, unable to help myself, I changed back into a human and stepped inside, Castiel following suit.

It was a door split into four sections, and I frowned before stepping into one of the sections, pushing until it began to turn. It was a strange kind of contraption and I jumped out the other side, waiting for Castiel to join me. It seemed like such an inefficient way to go into a building.

The air inside was warm and still. I took a moment to just breathe it in – it reminded me of being in my tent during the summer months when you're lazy from the humid air and even the animals and flies seem too tired to bother you. It was pleasant.

I looked around. There were large shelves in the room, rising up way over my head, and on them were thousands, millions, of books. Ranging in all kinds of shapes and sizes, from the very, very old to the 'newest', back when humanity still read and wrote. I'd never learned how to read – everything I'd learned was told me by word of mouth – and so when I gently stroked a finger along the spine of the nearest book, taking away a fine layer of dust, and peered at the title, it didn't make sense to me. I couldn't understand what it was saying.

Castiel approached me, stopping and reading over my shoulder. "Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll," he murmured, mimicking me and stroking a finger along the spine of the book.

"What's it about?" I asked softly. It seemed like the place was a large, sleeping giant, the books breathing with it as it slumbered and if I spoke too loud I'd disturb it.

"It's about a girl who falls into a mystical other world full of wild creatures and flights of fancy that didn't exist in the world she lived in," Castiel replied, moving away from me, further down the shelf and reading other titles. "This is the fiction section – works of literature where people have imagined things and then written them down."

I frowned. "Why would you write about things that were imaginary?"

Castiel cocked his head to one side, looking back at me. "To share them," he replied simply. "I'm sure your people have old legends and myths about all the things that exist. Stories are just a step further. Millions of people have written them, Dean – if you have an imagination, then you can write a story, and even then." He smiled a little. "There are other things you can write, of course. There's non-fiction. Things that have happened to you or famous people. Everyone wanted to know everything back in the time when this library was built – it was a human thing, I suppose."

"You sound wistful," I said, and it was true – he sounded like he was sad, looking at these vast numbers of books that hadn't been touched in years aside from the anonymous character who had kept the library clean.

He sighed, moving away again to the other side of the bookshelf and I followed. "There's such vast amounts of knowledge and experience stored up in books, Dean, you have no idea." He paused, biting his lower lip, as though considering what to say next. "There are books on medicine – if wolves read them, they would heal better. There are books on swimming, that cats like me could benefit from. There are books on pregnancy and childbirth and vast works of fiction containing things like you, and me, and situations like us. Histories and biographies of people who may have been going through similar experiences and how they reacted, how we can learn from them. You cannot fathom it."

…I think, right then, is when I decided to write this book. Eventually. I mean, I wasn't a historian or anything but it's not like I could lie about things that had actually happened to me, and even if it was lost or never read or anything, at least it was out there, somewhere, for someone like me to find years in the future. And hey, it's not like a winning side can fuck up a first person account too badly, right?

Above us, on a second floor that took up half as much space as the first, accessible only by a flight of stairs that started right in front of that weird turning door, I heard the sound of a page being turned. Castiel froze too, hearing it as well and we both looked up. Cautiously I headed towards the stairs, Castiel right behind me until we were almost out of the shelter of the half-floor, and then his hand was on my shoulder, pulling me back.

"Let me go first."

"Cas, if we were going to be attacked, we would have been by now."

"Still."

I rolled my eyes but I let him work out his over protectiveness and we both ascended the stairs quietly. There were perhaps a third the amount of shelves on this floor, spread out from the top of the stairs in a 'V' shape, and a door in front of us that Castiel told me later read 'Fire Exit'.

What a weird thing to call it. Fire doesn't exactly travel in a direction. Why would it exit somewhere?

Another sound, this time the soft thump of a book being reshelved, and Castiel tensed, his lip curling back in a growl, then a voice reached us. It was gentle and slightly amused;

"Don't you boys just stand there all day. Come and help an old man out."

I went forward before Castiel could stop me, towards the sound of the voice, and turned to see an elderly cat reaching up towards a top shelf, standing on his toes but still not quite tall enough to reach it. I walked forward and grabbed the book he wanted, handing it to him.

"Thank you very much, young man," he said with a genial smile, flashing white teeth. Castiel rounded the corner behind me and stopped, probably glad to see that I wasn't being gored. The man's eyes flashed to Cas, then back to me. "Well, well, it's been a while since I've had someone come around here. What brings you to the library?"

He turned around, still smiling and beginning to page through the book, and I followed him more because he'd continued the conversation than anything else. "I'd never been to Boston before. I asked my mate to come exploring with me."

"Well, it is lovely this time of year," the man replied, still smiling, and I had to wonder for a brief moment if he was, you know, _all there_. He sat himself down on a plush padded reading seat, the cushions moth-eaten but still soft and puffy-looking. "Come, sit down, stay a while. What brings you to the library?"

"It was the only building still whole," Castiel replied, taking a seat next to me when I accepted the man's invitation and sat down opposite him. "What's your name, stranger?"

The man looked up from his book, his smile widening. "Joshua. Head librarian going on…two thousand years now." I blinked at the age, but I shouldn't have been surprised – cats live for a very long time. "It's a sad day indeed if all the humans die out and don't have the common decency to live what they learned behind. Very sad!" He waggled his finger at us and I blinked and nodded just because I couldn't think of anything else to do. Joshua sighed again, placing a finger in the page he'd turned to in his book and fixing dark brown eyes on us. "You two are very young," he noted, and I just nodded again. "Are you lost?"

"Traveling."

"Ah." He nodded. "Well, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to give us a shout." Then, he gestured vaguely our way, turning back to his book, and I figured we were being dismissed. I stood and took Castiel's hand.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Downstairs," I said with a smile, pulling on his hand again and smiling wider when he followed me. "I want you to teach me how to read."

"I thought you didn't approve of it," he said with a wry smile.

I just shrugged. "I want to learn how to write. I think you'd be as good a teacher as any." If he questioned why I had changed my mind, he didn't put a voice to it, and he let me lead him downstairs. The rest of the day was spent picking up any books that interested me, just by their covers. Apparently you're not meant to judge a book by its cover but how else is an illiterate meant to know?

* * *

I learned a lot at that library. Like Ancient Greek civilization and Trivia of 2001, and what humans had called things, and words that were honestly completely bizarre, like sonogram and metaphor and 'emo', and how different people used different words for different things. It was weird how just a few years under a different ruler could change a whole country's vocabulary. I learned about women who killed themselves because they found their husbands dead or cheating, and about men who waged war over things like religion and oil and territory, and about diseases that had troubled humanity, right up to the one that had wiped them all out.

And everything that I learned and memorized, I wanted to put into this book, but Castiel said that that was kind of redundant and I should probably just stick to the story. Stupid know-it-all cat.


	28. Chapter 28

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean now has to deal with the struggles and drama of his family life since the main threat has gone. To be honest, the threat of war was easier to deal with.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Twilight bashing (because I can! :D) Small time jump, so Dean can now read pretty well. Um…awkward pregnancy!sex? *cannot write pregnant!sex* *slinks away*

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

"Hey, Cas?"

I waited a moment before his familiar shadow loomed over me. We'd been staying around the library, exploring Boston between Castiel's lessons, teaching me how to read and write. Admittedly, I preferred Castiel just reading me the books in his low, hypnotic voice, but I would never learn like that. Luckily, I think I was pretty quick on the uptake. I could read full-on novels by now, anyway, even if writing came a little harder. I could _see _the word in my head but for some reason my hand wasn't making the right motions.

Anyway…

"Yes?" he asked, sitting down in the comfortable cushion I'd managed to dig out from a storage room and brought in (with Joshua's permission, of course – really that guy was super welcoming and nice, if a little senile) so that I could comfortably curl up and read. He pressed a hand between my shoulder blades as he'd gotten into the habit of doing lately (not that I minded because the pressure felt really nice) and peered over my shoulder. "What's the problem?"

"Was it common for human teenage girls to fall in love with rapey guys?"

Castiel raised an eyebrow, looking over at me with barely disguised amusement on his face. "Um…not that you're setting a good example here…" I flipped him off over my shoulder. "But no, generally not. At least, not in the company I kept."

"Well, then, what…" I frowned, thumbing through the pages of the book I'd found. It had been relatively interesting until I'd gotten to the _he watches her while she sleeps _thing. "He's watching her sleep, how is that not rapey?"

Castiel blinked. "I watch you sleep, Dean," he murmured, reaching over my shoulder and flipping over the book so that he could see the cover of it.

"Yeah, but…" I rolled my eyes, tearing the book away and flicking back to the page I'd been on. "That's different. You're, like…I don't know. You're not rapey about it. Kind of. And you're not immortal…I mean…you're not like a…" Okay, wow, it was really depressing, and I set the book down. "God, Cas, please tell me we're not like this _Twilight _book," I groaned, pressing my fingers to my eyes and rubbing. My eyes always felt weird after I'd been reading for a really long time.

Castiel's gentle laughter reached me and I growled at him, half-playfully. He chuckled again and placed his hand over mine, pulling me close to him. "Dean, we're not like that. For starters, you're not a woman." I snorted, putting my hands on my swollen stomach and that was my point proven enough. "Okay, fine, but we're not as…well, _wussy_ as they were." I laughed at that, letting my head rest back on his shoulder and he placed a light kiss on my nose. I snorted and shook my head because it always tickled when he did that. "Secondly, that's fiction, and we're real and finally – I don't sparkle." I rolled my eyes again and barked out a laugh. "Nevertheless, perhaps I should make sure you don't get into any more of the pre-teen books. They're far from realistic."

"I don't get any of the older ones," I replied, and I was _not_ whining, alright? _Not. Whining_. "I mean…they use really long words and it's embarrassing when I can't just recognize them on the page. I mean, I get what they mean once I hear them but it's just awkward before then. And they spell things differently depending on the author and it's just…_weird_."

He smiled – I could feel it against my temple, his hands moving down so they rested over my stomach. I'd lost count of the amount of days we'd spent here (though I knew it was maybe a month, maybe slightly more) but I'd started to feel the baby moving around. It was a weird sensation – like things were crackling inside my stomach or fish were swimming around inside of me, which I suppose was the more accurate description. Still, it felt fucking strange.

Castiel seemed to like it, though. I think it might have soothed him or something, and the baby always moved more when his hands were on my stomach and that always made me feel really warm and fuzzy inside so I certainly wasn't complaining.

"If you're having trouble, you know I'd be willing to help you out," he said, nuzzling into the hair behind my ear and I closed my eyes, relaxing into the sensation of his warmth and his strong heartbeat against my back. "You have only to ask."

"I know that," I snapped in reply, a little harsher than I'd meant to be, and I turned my face to the side so I could see him out of the corner of my eye. "But it's still awkward. I guess I…" I paused, biting my lip, then sighed and looked away again, out of the giant glass windows that surrounded the upper floor, letting in sunlight during the day and making the room pleasantly warm while keeping the wind out (really, this glass shit was just genius). "I guess I never really thought about just how much more you knew than me. How smart you are."

Castiel chuckled, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into my stomach. "Dean, I've been around for a very long time, and when you're around for a very long time with nothing better to do than sit on your ass and watch civilization die, you get kind of bored." His voice held a strange kind of sadness at that but it quickly went away. "In the first few years after humans died and I had yet to become Alpha of my Clan, I spent many years like Joshua, just sitting in dusty old rooms and reading books that I thought no one would ever read again, and frankly? Half of it didn't make a lick of sense to me now and still doesn't."

"Well if the super-genius can't understand it…"

He laughed again. "There are a lot of people smarter than me, Dean, and you are very clever as well, just in different ways." He shifted a little, moving so that he was taking up some of the cushion himself, and I was sitting more in his lap than anything else. "You are clever in more practical ways."

It was totally the hormones' fault that I blushed at the compliment.

"Writing's hard," I said after a while of companionable silence, Castiel's breathing steady and warm on the back of my neck. He made a curious sound and leaned closer. "I mean, I can see the words in my head, and I know what they look like now, but I can't make my hand draw them out. They come out the wrong shape and I'm always second guessing myself to make sure I use the right word or the right phrasing, and punctuation and stuff like that – it's just a bitch."

He 'hmm'ed gently at the back of my neck, brushing his nose along my hairline, and really that kind of shit was getting distracting. "If the physical aspect of it is distressing you, perhaps we can find another method. Like a typewriter – I'm sure if Joshua has kept such a place in such a remarkable condition, he might have such a device at hand."

"A typewriter…" I frowned, remembering that word from somewhere. "That's the thing with the ink, right? It would, like, stamp the letter on that you wanted. Some chick made a guy write a book with one but the 'E' didn't work so she cut off his thumb."

I felt him blink against me. "Dean, what _have _you been reading?" he asked, his tone heavy with amusement, and I shifted, shoving myself out of his lap with a playful growl. It was weird, trying to do all the same things I'd been doing when the baby was getting bigger every day and really fucking up my balance, but I still managed reasonably well.

"I'm more than just a pretty face, old man," I replied with a grin, and he smirked up at me before he rose to his feet as well.

"I have no doubt of that." And then suddenly he was on me, pushing me down gently but firmly to the ground, and I laughed, going easily until he was on top of me, his hands around my wrists and his face hovering over mine. Now, I'll be the first to admit that having the bump between us was kind of awkward for me, but Castiel certainly didn't seem to mind, not with the way he was looking at me, like he wanted to eat me alive.

"Don't start something you're not going to finish, old man," I whispered to him, because it had been _far too long_ since he'd touched me in an even remotely sexual way, and while I loved the gentle, affectionate touches just as much, there were times when I just craved my strong Alpha mate to come out and play with me. I pushed up against his hold but my wrists remained very pointedly down, and Castiel smirked as though he found my efforts to move amusing.

He leaned down, pausing just before he kissed me, his breath ghosting over my parted lips and I shivered, because my body was stupidly responsive to him, and already I was from nothing to _holyfucksexnow_please_?_ in two seconds flat. His eyes were darkening and I whined, baring my teeth and lifting my head to try and meet his lips and he pulled away, the bastard, his smirk growing.

"Cas, don't tease," I begged (yeah, alright, I begged), and I kind of hated how my body was already shivering with need for his touch, goose bumps breaking out along my skin. I shoved up against his hold again and whined when his hold remained strong and unyielding. "Please."

"Shh, Dean," he purred, leaning down and brushing his nose against mine, then let his lips brush against mine and I whined again, answering him, drawing his bottom lip into my mouth so that I could bite down, give him a taste of his own fucking medicine. He growled into my mouth, pulling away but his lips were already red from my kiss, and it was nice. He smiled down at me, eyes dark and full of promises, and leaned down again, really kissing me this time, like he meant it, like he used to, and I moaned into it. His hands moved from my wrists, giving me free reign to touch him, and one hand knotted itself in his hair, the other sliding down his flank, finding a hold so I could dig my nails in and pull him to me. His hand brushed against the side of my face, the other against the floor so that he could hold most of his weight off of me, which I appreciated because it was kind of awkward, having his weight crushing my stomach down and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me uncomfortable.

His body heat was phenomenal, and the baby was going bat shit insane inside of me (which was, again, kind of weird but if I didn't think about it too hard it was okay). Castiel was purring lightly as he nuzzled into my mouth, kissing me sweetly as his hand moved from my head and splayed over my stomach instead, his thumb brushing over my belly button and the baby moved again. I gasped at the sensation and he smiled.

"Someone's enjoying themselves," he said with a low laugh.

I wrinkled my nose. "Don't make this weird. I'd prefer not to think about it." He laughed again, kissing me once more and I whined when it seemed he was backing off again, simmering down, and I sighed again because this was alright too. I mean, I wasn't going to whine because my mate wasn't putting out – I think there's enough evidence to show that I was the woman in this relationship.

He smiled down at me, placing a light kiss to my forehead, and then hauled me to my feet. "What? Where are we going?" I asked, disoriented and a little dizzy at the sudden headrush that came from standing up so fast. He chuckled.

"You said it shouldn't be weird. I think doing that where Joshua could see or hear us counts under that. You're very loud, you know." I blushed at that and punched him on the arm, but couldn't fight back the smile on my face. "Let's go somewhere else. Just for a while. Have some…alone time." His hand splayed out over my stomach, his voice lowered, and really it was unfair how much he affected me, and how effortlessly. "You up for it, Alpha?" he asked playfully.

I shoved him back, grinning despite myself. "Lead the way, old man," I replied, and laughed when his fingers laced with mine and we made our way out of the library door.

"Where do you want to go?"

I thought about it for a second. "Wasn't it a convention for human teenagers to have sex in a movie theatre?" I asked, grinning, and he rolled his eyes.

"Libraries too."

"You just ruled out libraries," I countered smoothly and he rolled his eyes again, tugging me out of the revolving door (I'd learned that term from a book. Humans called things the _weirdest_ names sometimes). "I don't mind where, Cas, I just want _you_."

He smiled, and tugged on my hand again, and led me out into the bright, brisk afternoon air.

* * *

Pregnant sex was weird.

Like, first of all, I'll admit it, I like it when Cas puts me on my back. It's like, I feel so _owned_ and it's just so intense and everything, and it's kind of epic. But with my stomach, it was awkward and felt really strange, like there was pressure on my chest and it made it hard to breathe. Besides, I wasn't sure I was comfortable with Castiel being able to, well, _see_ all of it. Like, I was huge now and it's hard to feel sexy when you look like you swallowed a beach ball (and yes, I'm aware of how much this is making me sound like a woman, thank you).

That being said, being on my hands and knees just felt heavy, like I couldn't hold my own weight and Cas' as well. It was awkward. I think you can see a recurring theme here.

We ended up being on our sides, Cas holding me from behind, and that…well, that actually felt kind of awesome because I was still immersed in Castiel, could still feel his heart fly behind me and his harsh breathing in my ear, and feel his warm, strong arms around me while he thrust into me, and it was kind of intimate in a totally different way from before. And yes, the kid did go crazy as well, and I tried not to think about that too much.

* * *

A typewriter was, it turns out, not only a good idea, but a feasible one, as Joshua had a really old model tucked away in a library storage area and it was in fairly good condition. Once Cas taught me how to use it (and let me tell you, it was way more complicated than it looked) I set to work writing.

Except…

"Hey, Cas? How do I spell your name?" I asked, because I had no idea how to, and it wasn't exactly common or in the dictionary." His voice came to me from a couple of shelves down, in the 'Modern Drama' section which I had to think was kind of a redundant title now. I frowned, typing out the name, and okay, it made sense, but then… "Okay, what about when I call you 'Cas'? Because, I mean, with two s's, it just doesn't seem right, because your full name doesn't have two of them and I would think 'Cass' would abbreviate 'Cassie' or 'Cassandra' or something, but then again 'Cas' is like 'Hass', but you don't say 'Hass' you say 'Haz', but it's spelled like 'Has' so that's confusing too, and -?"

"Dean, I don't think it really matters," he said, and I could tell he was laughing, the bastard. "Personally I don't mind, I mean. Just whatever looks right. I'm sure that whoever reads this book will probably interpret my name differently anyway. For all they know you actually pronounce 'Castiel' like 'Castille'."

I rolled my eyes at that, but wrote them both out in my untidy scrawl. 'Cas' looked a lot better, so that's what I used when I typed this up.

* * *

We didn't stay much longer at the library. I was starting to get antsy about being away from my Pack for so long, and I missed Sam and Gabriel and the rest of my wolves and Castiel's cats. We asked Joshua if we could take paper and the typewriter with us and he just smiled amiably, said he had no use for it, and we might as well, and gave us something called a 'rucksack' which was like a bag with straps on it so that we could hold it easily. It fit on a human's back, and Castiel could easily carry it in his mouth when we were as animals.

It was a five day journey back to the Pack, because despite the need to return to them, my baby bump was more like a baby mountain and I didn't want to run too fast and hurt myself or the baby, and Castiel was of the same mindset, so we took it relatively easy, and Castiel and I talked about many things on the way home, either as we walked or to make ourselves go to sleep at night when the wind blew harshly and it was very cold. I realized, belatedly, that we had left the furs and supplies at Baldur's Clan so we were only with our own body heat to keep us warm.

_"Hey, Cas?" _I asked, and it seemed like I had said those two words more than any in my life since I met that cat. He blinked open one large blue eye at me, shifting where he lay braced over my shoulder, keeping my upper body warm while I curled around my stomach.

_"Hmm?"_

_"We should think of names," _I suggested, a little hesitantly, because I don't know if it was intentional, but we'd kind of _not _been talking about the baby. Maybe he didn't want to jinx it or maybe he was waiting for me to bring it up, but either way I figured it was time to talk about it. I shifted a little, getting more comfortable on the grasslands. _"I mean, when my Mom was bearing Sammy she had the name picked out since she found out she was pregnant with him."_

_"Do you have any in mind?" _he asked, blinking open his other eye, ears going forward. I just shrugged.

_"Well, not really, but still, I feel like we should," _I said, unable to justify myself beyond that.

_"I've never named a child before," _Castiel said, sounding almost wistful. _"Never had the occasion to. How do your people generally pick them out?"_

I paused for a moment, thinking. _"We generally base them on our parents' names, or names we really like from our friends or family. I mean, Sammy and I were named after our mom's parents – Samuel and Deanna. And Jo named her baby after me. That sort of thing."_

He paused for a moment, considering, then he said; _"I like Elizabeth for a girl."_

I blinked at him. _"Elizabeth?" _I repeated, rolling the name over in my head. _"Was that your mother's name?" _ It was just guesswork, so I wasn't surprised when he shook his head. _"Who then?"_

_"My sister's. She's one of the only cats who shared both my mother and my father with me. She died when she was five years old."_

_"I'm very sorry."_

_"It was a long time ago," _he replied with a small shrug, swallowing. _"But I've always liked the name, and I thought it was a pity that the name never got to have an owner. In our Clan, we rarely reuse names within several generations, and so we pick rare ones sometimes out of necessity. Often we've joked that I am named what I am because my parents were out of options. It was either Castiel or 'Blue Eyes'." _I chuckled at that.

_"I could call you 'Blue Eyes', if you wanted,_" I teased, huffing a little when he bit playfully at my scruff. _"Okay, Elizabeth for a girl. What about for a boy?" _I think it was even harder to think of that one, because, for some strange reason, the only name I could think of was Ben's, and I didn't want to do that, because that seemed kind of cruel to Lisa.

I thought back. I didn't want to name him after my dad or Granddad, because that had already been done. I wanted…well, to be fair, I wanted a bit of a surprise. Someone that we hadn't used before, because this whole _baby_ hadn't been done before – as far as I was aware, this was the first cat-wolf hybrid to be conceived, and even if that wasn't true, then to be conceived by a pair of male Alphas. That had to be a record breaker.

And it was a surprise. A wonderful, happy surprise that had served to make us smile and make us learn.

I knew it, then.

_"Joshua," _I whispered.

Castiel blinked at me, then purred softly, nuzzling into my neck. _"Joshua," _he repeated. _"I like it."_


	29. Chapter 29

**Title: **Instinct

**Author:** HigherMagic

**Pairings:** Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel

**Rating:** NC-17

**Word Count:** WIP

**Spoilers: **None

**Summary:** Werewolf/Were-cat AU. Dean now has to deal with the struggles and drama of his family life since the main threat has gone. To be honest, the threat of war was easier to deal with.

**Notes/Warnings:** MPreg. Also, I've never been pregnant or been in labor, nor have I been around pregnant/in labor people. All this stuff comes off Google and Friends episodes, m'kay?

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own (:

* * *

Now, in that library I'd heard of these Braxton Hicks contractions. I'd read up on them and though it was a little scary to think about – you know, _practice contractions_ – I wasn't _that _worried, considering they were apparently for practice and a lot of women didn't even feel them.

Apparently.

Of course, I'm not a woman.

Still, since I was a little more aware of what exactly they would feel like, I didn't freak out much when they started happening. It was weird because it was, well, more intense than I'd thought they'd be, but nothing I couldn't manage and I followed one of the book's advice and changed what I was doing when they happened, and rested a lot until they went away. It was kind of exhausting but it was working so I wasn't going to complain.

Gabriel and Sean returned to the pack a little after Castiel and I did, as Gabriel was going to start making sure everything was set and the 'trainees' – I can only assume he meant Jo and Anna – were ready for anything they might be needed for before he put himself on bed rest. I wondered why he didn't put _me _on it – I'm sure Castiel would have been all for it – but, in his words; "You're a stubborn bastard who wouldn't listen to me anyway and I'm older so I get special privileges."

Frankly, I think he just liked the idea of Sam fretting over him while he sprawled around doing nothing. Still, there were times when things like a long bath or a nice nap (and I _hated _naps) sounded really appealing, but I wouldn't let myself, despite Castiel's protests, because I was still Alpha and still had a pack to run, and even though Sam and Adam had done fantastically in my absence, it was still my job as the eldest and I wasn't going to skimp out just because I was pregnant. Lord knows female Alphas didn't do it.

I'd managed to figure out that typewriter thing more, but Castiel brought it to my attention that eventually it would stop working because things were old and they needed ink or tape or something – I wasn't really paying attention to the _words_, in my defense – so I also practiced writing by hand, even though it was a bitch, because it's not like carrying about a typewriter was a practical solution to writing problems. The machine was too awkward to carry much anyway.

As the weeks went on, everything was running smoothly. With the threat of the rival packs gone and both Castiel and I happy and content, the packs were running very well together. Hunting parties had formed between both wolves and cats, and more pairs had come together in Castiel's and my absence. Adam, thankfully, had begun to recover from Michael's death and was becoming more like the outgoing friendly pup I knew him to be. Anna was beginning to show and had forgone the clothing, following Gabriel's example, to accommodate her rounding stomach. Jo's son grew strong and healthy, which was good because I'd learned that the birth had been difficult because apparently the baby had been coming out the wrong way and had the umbilical chord wrapped around its neck so it wasn't breathing right, or something.

I kind of stopped listening after that, because the horror stories were just freaking me out.

Lisa became kind of like my midwife, I guess – always around since Gabriel was resting up as much as he could before my birth and then his. She was a font of knowledge and experience and had the valuable asset of knowing when there were things I needed to hear and when there were things she should really shut up about.

So everything was going okay. I stayed as a wolf for most of the next two months, so I was eight months along. It was common for expecting mothers to stay as wolves, as we commonly give birth in our wolf forms, just because it's safer that way and we take on the form of the wolf a few months early so the baby doesn't get confused. I'm not sure if a baby would actually be able to get confused, because as far as I could tell the only difference that affected them was geographical location and how they hung off our bodies, but hey – it had worked so far so who was I to go against the flow?

Anyway, so things seemed to be going well. I mean, I was getting a lot of the normal pregnancy things (though thankfully no mood swings. At least, none that I noticed though sometimes Sammy would give me weird looks) like cravings and false contractions and everything. That was why, when I felt the first painful tightening in my stomach, I thought it was just another episode and that it would go away.

It didn't go away.

In fact, it kept getting worse.

A soft whine was all it took for Castiel to come to my side – which I was glad for because I didn't want to, like, cause a panic or anything, despite the fact that I was kind of freaking out. I felt his hand at the scruff of my neck. "Dean, what is it?" he asked, lowly and urgently, and I kind of had the passing thought that it wasn't like my pregnancy was a _secret_.

_"I…I think…_" I cut off again as another wave of pain shot through me, nostrils flaring as I tried to breathe through it. It was getting stronger, much worse than they'd been before. _"God, Cas…I…I think something's wrong." _That's the only way I could explain it – I felt like I had right before Gabriel told me I'd lost my first child. I felt all _wrong_ inside like something had happened, and that thought terrified me so I stopped thinking it. _"Get Gabriel. God, Cas, get Gabriel."_

He nodded, and I felt his presence leave my side, and I whined again, the pain abating for just a second, and it passed, leaving me panting. Jesus _fuck, _that had hurt. I was breathing heavily and felt sweat beginning to soak my fur, and I really hoped that was either a fucking huge false contraction or…well, no. There's no alternative really.

The second one was just starting when Cas managed to find Gabriel and bring him back to the tent, Sam following along behind. Immediately I felt hands pressing at my stomach, another around my hind leg and I didn't have the energy or the will to be uncomfortable at that. I inhaled deeply when I turned my head, able to catch sight of Gabriel out of the corner of my eye, and he lifted up a hand, his fingers coated lightly with clear fluid.

"His water's broken," Gabriel said, turning wide eyes to Cas. "He's going into labor."

Castiel's reply was lost to me as that second contraction – and _holy fuck I was having contractions _– swept through me, and I whined again, because _there are no words for how much that hurt_. And it was going to get worse. They were going to get worse and closer together and I was going to have to push a _person_ out of me and _holy fuck the baby's coming _and –

"Dean, Dean!" There was a hand at my face, smoothing down the fur between my ears, and I whined again, cocking my ears towards Sam's voice. "You're gonna be okay, alright? Gabriel knows what he's doing – he'll guide you through this, and we've talked about what to do. You'll be alright."

"Dean, I -." Gabriel hesitated, and I had just enough time to realize that Castiel was being really, really quiet, before the were-cat's stricken expression reached me. "You…you have to change back to a human, Dean. I don't know how to recognize wolf signs." I balked, cause no way in _hell _could I do this as a human. I was barely managing the pain as a wolf and babies are _huge _and I didn't exactly have the equipment for shoving eight pounds of human out my ass. I'm pretty sure I managed to communicate all this in a growl. "Please, Dean. At least until we get to the final stretch. I need to make sure you're not going to hurt yourself."

_"But, it's too early! Not for another, like, seven weeks!" _I was shaking my head, in denial about the whole thing because this _couldn't _be happening so soon. I had time! I had more time!

"Dean, we need to do this now because that baby's coming whether you like it or not."

There was a long moment while I considered – although mostly I was trying to breathe through the second contraction, as it reached its peak and then abated, and _fuck, _I couldn't do this. It was going to just get worse and I couldn't do this.

Sam's hand was back in my fur again, and then Castiel's joined his. He pet down the side of my face and turned me so I could see him. "You can do this, Dean," he said, with that kind of sincerity he had that I actually _had _to believe him, because he seemed so convinced. "Let Gabriel help you."

I whined again, flattening my ears, but obeyed. Everything felt _wrong_ when I changed back, muscles and bone compressing and reshaping and it _hurt_, fuck did it hurt. I was shaking and covered in sweat by the time I managed to get my shape back to a human, and clutched at my stomach as a third sharp pain began around my stomach, crying out because it hurt so fucking much.

"Dean, it's okay," Castiel murmured, taking my hand, and I squeezed it as tightly as I dared, clenching my teeth to avoid growling out some curse towards him for ever putting me in this situation. Stupid fertile bastard. My eyes flashed open when I felt Sam getting up, preparing to leave. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?" he demanded before I could say anything.

Sam hesitated. "It's tradition only to have the other parent, the midwife and any prior children here. I don't fit into those categories," he said, unsure of himself, looking to me for guidance.

"Sammy…please, please stay," I begged, because I was in so much pain, and Sam was always a calming, steadying influence on me and I wouldn't be able to do this without him any more than I could do it without Castiel. I held my other hand out to him, doubled over myself and grabbing blindly until I felt his palm sliding into mine, and I pulled him down next to me. "Stupid bitch," I growled at him, forcing out the sentiment though it hurt, and I felt his gentle laughter next to me, and he gave a soft squeeze of his hand.

"Alright, Dean," Gabriel murmured, pulling me back to the here and now. "There's going to be another one very soon, and it'll hurt even more. Eventually you're going to want to start pushing as hard as you can, but you can't do that, alright? You're doing this through something that has much tighter-linked, stronger muscles than women and a baby can tear them if you try and force it through too fast. We're just gonna take this nice and slowly."

"Fuck you," I growled at Castiel as another wave of pain overcame me. I cried out, panting through it, knowing I was probably crushing Castiel's hand but he deserved it. "You're not coming near me ever again, you hear me?"

"Yes, Dean, yes I understand," he said, sounding faintly amused – jackass – but his palm was rubbing between my shoulder blades and that felt kind of nice, so I didn't growl at him. Much.

Lisa came in the tent just then, her eyes widening on the scene. "Oh, I guess that explains it," she said, putting a hand to her mouth and averting her eyes for my modesty – one of the few times we wolves had it. "I'll go tell the Pack. Would you like us to clear the area?"

Sam answered for me; "Yes. Just to the outer reaches of the camp, though. Hopefully we won't be here long." I slapped him for that comment but he just grunted and stayed by my side. Good little Sammy.

Lisa nodded, smiling and exited the tent again, just as the third contraction abated. I collapsed, boneless, against Castiel who'd conveniently angled himself so that I was leaning against him. I rested my head back against his shoulder, breathing heavily and staring up at the sloping roof of my tent.

"Fuckin' hate you," I slurred, too tired to come up with anything else, and he smiled, rubbing my swollen belly lightly, his other hand still squeezing mine.

"You can do this, Dean," he purred into my ear and I shivered, gritting my teeth when I felt the next one start. God, I couldn't do hours of this – and I knew births could last hours. I couldn't do this. "You're just in the final stretch. Even if you think you can't, you're so stubborn that you'll be determined to prove yourself wrong."

"God, you're _such_ an ass," I snapped back at him, squeezing his hand extra tightly just because I could. "Gonna kill you for doing this to me."

"Alright, Dean," Gabriel said, breaking into the conversation. He was kneeling between my legs which were bent up and out for him to have all the access he needed, and maybe when I look back I'll be uncomfortable about that but really I was just so fucking grateful that he was here because really he was the only one who knew what the fuck he was doing. "On the next one, I want you to start pushing. Gently, though, okay? Don't strain yourself, for God's sake."

"Easy for you to say," I snarled, and he smiled slightly at me before the next one hit. And I did as he said, following the instinct to push as I sat up, just wanting this thing to be _out _of me as soon as possible.

"Woah, woah, Dean! Stop!" I sat back, breathing heavily, and the scent of blood filled the room. Gabriel fixed wide eyes on me. "I told you to go slowly," he growls, almost like it was my fault the male body wasn't meant to push out a kid, and then his face twisted in concentration. I felt his hands along my entrance, which – eww, I squirmed – was slick and open, looser than it had ever been. Dilated, I guess the word was. The scene was vaguely, but too eerily, like the one where I'd miscarried and didn't know it, and I hoped – _prayed, _yes, I prayed – that this day wouldn't end the same way.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," I gasped out, praying that I hadn't done too much damage, that I was still okay and, more importantly, the baby was still okay. "I didn't mean to. I just – fuck, I don't know what I'm doing here, Gabriel! And -."

"It's okay, Dean, it's okay," Gabriel replied, cutting me off, sounding relieved. "Sometimes there is a bit of bleeding with a birth. In fact, it's normal. You're okay – I thought something had gone wrong but you're alright. The baby's alright."

I almost sobbed from relief. Unfortunately, though, relief didn't last long. "We're going to start pushing again, and this time _go slowly_."

I honestly don't know how you push something out of you slowly. Seriously, if anyone knows, feel free to drop a fucking hint, because I didn't. But I didn't push as _hard _next time, or as urgently, and Gabriel seemed a lot more pleased with that performance than my first attempt. Soon enough I felt like I was exploding, though, and I knew the baby was coming for real. Gabriel told me not to push – to just let my body go with it – and I did, and I guess the only way I can describe it one moment I felt really, really full, the next I was completely empty, my body gaping and raw around something that wasn't there anymore, and Gabriel carefully held up a wriggling, _stuff-that-I-didn't-want-to-think-about_-covered mass of limbs, flailing a little in his hold. He was grinning from ear to ear, grabbing one of the clean cloths he carried in his medical bag and wiping at the tiny, red face.

My baby.

My _daughter_.

I collapsed back against Castiel, weak with relief and kind of feeling a little proud of myself for the accomplishment, and Castiel's hand was stroking through my sweaty hair. It was an odd kind of silent moment while we watched Gabriel clean her – _Elizabeth_ – and then he handed her towards me.

"Come on, now, it's not like I did any of the work," he said, grinning into my dazed expression. I took her from him, cradling her to my chest and _God, _she was so tiny. So…fragile, and it was hard to believe I'd just given birth to this little mass in my arms. I knew I was grinning like an idiot and when I turned to look at Castiel, he was wearing a mirror smile, reaching down and smoothing over the tiny tuft of blonde that sprouted from her head.

"She's beautiful," he murmured, cradling the back of my head with his other hand and placing a kiss to my forehead. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face if I tried.

"You have a name for her?" Sam asked in a hushed whisper as Gabriel busied himself with cutting the cord and things like that. I don't know – I was really tired and that scene is kind of fuzzy to me. I grinned and held her out towards Sam so he could hold her. "What's she called?"

"Elizabeth," Castiel replied solemnly, and I nodded, smiling, and Sam nodded too, wiggling a finger in front of the baby and listening to her little gurgle. I smiled, and then hissed as another wave of pain made its way through me, slightly better than it had been but still pretty damn intense. I looked over at Gabriel.

"Um…" He snorted a little, grinning as though this was just his luck. "I think rest time's over. Baby number two's coming out."

_Number two? _I was pretty sure I'd said it, but I was just gaping at Gabriel like a fish out of water. "But…no, no, only one baby, Gabriel. Only -." I hissed again as the pain got worse for a brief second, feeling like another contraction, and I moaned once it abated. "God, I can't do that again," I whispered brokenly, closing my eyes shut. "I…I can't -."

"Dean." I looked up at Gabriel's serious voice. "If you're too tired, we can always try a Caesarian-section." I frowned, remembering the term from a human book, and growled defensively, curling my hands over my stomach.

"You're not cutting the kid out!" I snarled, because what if they cut _it _instead? What if that went wrong? I didn't doubt Gabriel's skills as a medic or a surgeon, but _still_, this was _my kid_ they were talking about. "No freaking way."

Mirth sparked in Gabriel's eyes, and he smirked at me. "Then push."

Stupid whiskered bastards.

* * *

It was actually a lot easier to push Joshua out. It was like his sister had made the way for him. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt like hell, but at least he came out human so I didn't damage myself, and they were both healthy – as healthy as premature babies could be, and considering the damage I'd taken that had caused my first loss, I considered it a miracle they were alive at all.

Joshua had my eyes, and kind of looked like Sammy had when he was a baby. So he probably takes after me more. Lizzie, though, she looked just like her other father – right down to the head-tilt. They both had little tufts of blonde hair like I had when I was a baby so there was really no telling what color they would inherit until they got older.

They were both quiet babies, which I appreciated. All I had to be awake for was feeding them, and even then it was debatable. Castiel was more than making up for all the imagined crap he'd put me through taking care of them. I felt kind of bad after verbally abusing him during the birth that I was also making him do most of the work, but I honestly think he would have chained me down if I'd insisted on helping.

I used my free time and recovery period to write more, while the memories were still fresh. It hurt to move but I got my strength back, slowly but surely, and eventually the pack was allowed to move back in two days after the birth of the twins.

New wolves are welcomed into the pack by every member touching them. The cats didn't seem to understand this but that didn't stop them participating. Castiel and I watched, each of us holding one of the twins, while members from both our packs came forward and touched them, shared smile with us or whispered a blessing or congratulations.

* * *

We'd done it. We'd well and truly united our packs together through that ritual, and when someone asked me which of them would reign over us, I answered why not both? They were matches of each other, would compliment and complete way more and become closer than Sam and I ever could. Later on we discovered that Lizzie had inherited the cat gene, and Joshua the wolf. They were equal and opposite and two halves of the united team.

* * *

Three months later Gabriel gave birth to Sam's child – a daughter that they named after Sam's and my mother – Mary. She's a total sweetheart, completely capable of wrapping anyone and everyone around her middle finger. I know she's going to be a heartbreaker when she's older and I can't wait to see Sam go all 'over-protective father' on her ass.

* * *

They're just going on three now, and I've finished this book. It took a while but I got there – I'm sorry if the handwriting's really crappy. I'm still learning with that. When I'm done I'm going to go back to that library and give it to Joshua, because Lord knows he'll probably find more use for it than I will, and any travelers that find him on their paths. Sam says I should probably take out all the sex and language and stuff, but hey – it's what I remember, and I figure when they're old enough I'll make Lizzie and Joshua read it, because they should know what exactly they're signifying, here. I had hoped my children would grow up in a world of revolution and unity and well, this is a step, right?

Besides, knowing my luck, if they're anything like me, they'll run Cas and I ragged jumping into lakes before they can swim, taking on fully grown mama bears before they're ten, and fall in love with their arch-enemies. This will be my ultimate little payback, because hey – it's not going to kill them to know their old man was capable of some pretty crazy shit, back in the day.

Oh, and on a side note – that rival rag-tag enemy pack? Never showed their faces here again. That might have had something to do with Sean and Adam taking over the peace talks between our kinds. Adam's always been called the diplomat and Sean's quite a smooth talker himself. I'm not quite sure how they managed to get teamed up together and frankly, I'm not going to ask.

Sam says he's never letting Mary near this book. Prude.

* * *

FIN


End file.
